Costa Rica no longer seems a Latin American success story
Its state services are crumbling, and people are angry about it
On October 25th San José, the capital of Costa Rica, was filled with music and placards as several thousand marched to the presidential palace to call on President Rodrigo Chaves to provide more funding for the country’s public services. Many shouted in favour of more money for education, which does not receive the 8% of GDP annually that the constitution mandates. Others called for supporting the Caja, the institution that provides health care and pensions to Ticos, as citizens are known.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Paradise lost?”
From the November 4th 2023 edition
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