Nicaragua vs. Costa Rica

Before having this conversation with my host family, they seemed to be pretty go with the flow about every subject. My Tica mom had never really seemed uncomfortable about any of my questions, or much of anything that has happened over the past few months (weird, we've been here for a few months). Once I brought up Nicaraguans in Costa Rica, my Tica sister got a worried look on her face and my mom started fidgeting and doing things around the kitchen. When I began to ask a few questions, my sister gave me very matter-of-fact answers. According to her, Nicaraguans come here and do jobs that Ticans don't want to do anymore--such as pick coffee, construction, etc. My mom told me that they drink a lot of alcohol. My sister kind of rolled her eyes at that statement and was quick to say that it doesn't matter to her if they want to come here to study or to work. They have that right. She also mentioned that some people discriminate or make jokes at their expense, but really they have the same opportunities here as Ticans do.

This somewhat tense conversation leads me to believe a few things. First, there is somewhat of a generational gap on the view of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica. This is probably true for a lot of things. I would compare this to racism in the United States. There is definitely more discrimination against minorities in the older generations than in the younger ones.

Second, my sister seemed very concerned about what she was saying. Almost like she was trying desperately to be politically correct. She wanted to be sure that I knew that she thinks that Nicaraguans have the same opportunities here than Ticans, but at the same time recognized that this is not what everyone in Costa Rica believes. The carefulness of her words, leads me to believe that despite what she says or how she feels, this is a touchy subject for her as well.

I didn't get much meat out of this conversation as far as how Nicaraguans have affected Costa Rica as a country. My family seemed eager to steer away from this topic and get on with their night. Nicaraguans in Costa Rica seems to be somewhat of a taboo subject, and I don't think that that will be changing any time soon.

As far as comparing Costa Rica with Nicaragua, there are a few obvious differences. For one, the architecture--especially in Granada. The buildings and sidewalks were absolutely beautiful there. The buildings were large, ornate, colorful, and it was fun to walk around and look at it all. Once we left Granada, there was a dramatic change. Buildings got more shack-like, side roads became dirt roads, and everything seemed drastically underdeveloped compared to the city. This drastic change could also be applied to my observed socio-economic class of the people in Nicaragua. There seemed to be a great divide among the people. There were people with money and people with nothing, and very few in the middle.

In Costa Rica, there are less extreme differences--it is much more homogeneous. There is a spectrum of wealth here, but at least in the city, it seems to crowd the middle more than the extremes. The buildings are a little more humble, but they all are somewhat in the middle of the spectrum as well. The roads aren't spectacular, but they all are drivable for the most part.

This comparison leads me to believe a few things. One, the money in Nicaragua was invested in infrastructure, and then it left. The country was left with a beautiful city, but not much as far as welfare for its people or surrounding communities. Costa Rica on the other hand, distributed its money more evenly among infrastructure and welfare programs. The money invested in infrastructure seems to have been distributed evenly among all areas, not favoring the center of the city per se, but giving a little everywhere. That also follows for social programs. Everyone received some benefits, which created a more evenly distributed population.

Unfortunately for Costa Rica and maybe fortunately for Nicaragua, it seems that globalization has forced the countries in this region to become more like one another. Because the homogeneity of Costa Rica is in the minority of Central America, it will become more diversified with time and that will create social, political, and economic tension. Nicaragua will probably undergo a similar change but in the opposite way, however the contrast will not be as drastic in Nicaragua as in Costa Rica because Nicaragua resembles many of the countries in the region.

It will be interesting to see how both countries evolve over the next decade, and perhaps how the countries of the world will as well. There is certainly some tension within Costa Rica regarding Nicaraguans, and fundamentally, maybe it stems from these inevitable changes in Tican society.