The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica

Abstract

[...]right away on p. 13, the book starts with a critical analysis of the 'unifying myth of the nation', according to Costa Rican historians, 'Because there were few precious metals or Indians, they argued, Spanish settlers were forced to till the soil as independent subsistence farmers rather than becoming feudal lords who exploited native peoples and the gold and silver they mined. [...]there developed a rural classless democracy of peace-loving white farmers who greatly valued freedom and family'. The various Structural Adjustment Programs, imposed by the International Monetary Fund, resulted in high cutbacks on government spending in crucial areas like health, education, and infrastructure. [...]this is an excellent and highly readable book on an idiosyncratic country.

The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica, by Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz, and Karen Zubris Biesanz. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999.

The book traces 'the evolution of Costa Rican culture and institutions from preColumbian times through the 1990s' (Preface, p. ix). The authors fully acknowledge that their methods were 'eclectic' (p. ix), ranging from interviews with all sorts of Costa Ricans, 'daily attention to the country's mass media' (mostly newspapers and television, one can infer from the endnotes), 'and many hours of observation in diverse settings from coffee groves to the Legislative Assembly, including stays of up to seven months with families in several communities'. Partly because of its methods and inside view, the book is eminently readable and very lively.

The book's major strength is exactly its long-term inside view on Costa Rica. It might almost be entitled 'Paradise Lost'. In twelve chapters, the reader gets a thorough perspective on the enormous social changes that have affected the Costa Rican customs, economy, government, politics, class and ethnic system, community life, housing, health, family life, education system, religion, and leisure since 1948. At the same time, various elements of continuity are identified and analyzed. Although there is some nostalgia presented in the text, as evident in many quotes from especially older people, there is also a keen sense of the improvements in health, education, and infrastructure.

The changes that have swept Costa Rica are perhaps not that different from those in other Central American, or even South American, countries, but its particular effects were always 'a la tica'. Within a generation or two most Latin American countries have gone from being predominantly rural and isolated to ever more urbanized and part of the global economy. But Costa Rica has been a full democracy with free popular elections since 1889; it abolished its army in 1948. However, right away on p. 13, the book starts with a critical analysis of the 'unifying myth of the nation', according to Costa Rican historians, 'Because there were few precious metals or Indians, they argued, Spanish settlers were forced to till the soil as independent subsistence farmers rather than becoming feudal lords who exploited native peoples and the gold and silver they mined. Thus there developed a rural classless democracy of peace-loving white farmers who greatly valued freedom and family'. The authors present a more critical view and use other sources. They conclude, 'This conventional version of history ignores the distinctions of wealth and power that existed. It ignores, too, the enslavement of Indians and Africans and the enforced racial segregation of Central Valley residents. It also exaggerates the isolation of colonial farmers' (p. 19).

Costa Rica is a Third World country, but its poverty rates are lower than those of other Central American countries. 'In 1995 it was judged to have the highest quality of life in Latin America and ranked twenty-eighth in the world in terms of life expectancy at birth (seventy-eight years for women, seventy-four for men), educational level, and real per capita income' (p. 5). However, the 2001 Human Development Report of the UN Development Program (New York etc: Oxford University Press, 2001) calculated a much lower ranking for Costa Rica at 41.

What had happened? The Costa Rican economy boomed in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, based mostly on small-scale industrialization, coffee, bananas, and cattle. The severe economic crisis of 1979-82 caused a huge drop in real incomes and rising poverty rates in the 1980s. The various Structural Adjustment Programs, imposed by the International Monetary Fund, resulted in high cutbacks on government spending in crucial areas like health, education, and infrastructure. In the 1990s, tourism became more important that coffee or bananas, but poverty rates remained high, affecting around 20 percent of the population. The increased opportunities for upward social mobility between 1948 and 1978 (p. 102) gradually disappeared. Many people began to experience downward social mobility, leading to an expansion of the so-called informal sector, which included 22 per cent of the labour force in 1995 (p. 59). Even more alarming was the fact that the Health Ministry reported in 1995 that 20 percent of all children under age six were malnourished (p. 151). Various infectious diseases have also been on the rise since the 1990s.

The consequences of cutbacks in government spending were also visible in the faltering educational system. 'In 1978, 6.2 percent of the GDP was spent on schooling; in 1992, only 2.7 percent' (p. 202). Few new schools were built and maintenance was neglected. Teaching materials were in short supply. 'Some children now must bring their own chairs to school' (p. 202). The situation in public secondary schools was even worse. 'In 1990, only 49 percent of public high school students passed the exam and got a diploma; in private ones, 85 percent. [...] Public schools are so bad that upper- and upper-middle-class parents wouldn't dream of sending their children there; since these parents are the ones with political clout, their lack of interest in public education is reflected in government neglect. The increasing gap in quality and prestige between private and public education then widens class inequalities even further' (p. 211).

The field of religion experienced another important and rapid change; in only 30 years, the number of Protestant believers exploded to reach eleven percent of the population by 1996 (p. 246). The book faithfully mentions the main explanations for this Protestant (or rather Pentecostal) boom: rapid social change, urbanization, the need for a sense of security and community, the highly emotional church services. I really do wonder if it is true that 'religious differences seldom cause serious family problems' (p. 247). Attending different churches on Sundays and even on weekdays will most likely not help family bonding in a country where family life is so strongly idealized.

Ticos, as Costa Ricans are called in Central America, certainly feel that they are different from the other Central American nations. Neighbouring Nicaragua is the obvious country in contrast: incredibly poor, always at war or in political turmoil, causing half a million people to migrate abroad - mostly to Costa Rica. The book identifies on p. 6 the 'most cherished values' of Costa Ricans as being 'democracy, peace, the family, and education'. Costa Ricans value humility, informality, consensus decision-making, and above all want to quedar bien with their compatriots. This expression epitomizes the essence of the country, according to the authors. Quedar bien in the workplace means 'to make a good impression in the face-to-face encounter of the moment even if it means pretending to understand an unclear directive or promising to fulfil it when they know they can't or won't' (p. 60-61). In Costa Rica, it truly affects all domains of life. The expression in Spanish means much more than just 'face-saving', as it is described in the index (p. 297).

It is a pity that the authors have not dealt with the intriguing paradox that ticos are described as highly individualistic and idiosyncratic, yet at the same time they are obsessed with face-saving and getting involved in social activities. Costa Ricans can indeed behave in a very individualistic way, but only across a very clearly defined, socially accepted and enforced bandwidth. My only other criticism concerns the few times when sources were unclear, and the somewhat arbitrary selection and presentation of interviewees and their quotes. I am also puzzled that the crucial civil war of 1948 is treated so briefly.

To sum up, this is an excellent and highly readable book on an idiosyncratic country. Just reading it makes you want to go there again.