Costa Rica Reader - Questions and Answers

My questions, with the answers I've found after our visit, from chapter 4 are as follows:
How gender equal is Costa Rican society today?

I was genuinely surprised at how gender equal Costa Rican society seems to be.  Everywhere we went people were treated as equals.  Maurico and Maria Paula seemed to see each other as peers, and Don Heraldo and Felicia had their own roles in the family, but were equals.  There are probably a few exceptions to this, but from my experience Costa Ricans are not sexist at all.

Are social classes treated equally by the government today?

This question is a hard one to answer, but I lean towards yes.  Everyone has the same free access to medical treatment and education,  they are all free to voice their opinions, and have equal opportunity to get a job.  However, when applying for a job, employers are allowed to ask you personal questions about your age, family, and education.  Not only are they allowed to ask, but they can use it against you.  I definitely think Costa Rica has some things to work on so that everyone is treated equally, but so does every other country.

How much power does the government have over the people?

The government has a fair bit of control considering land use, but it is not necessarily enforced.  We saw several examples of where the government had put provisions on the land that were being ignored, and nothing was being done to fix it.  I do not think I saw a single cop car driving around monitoring the roads, or a cop near areas known for prostitution.  We did not talk about voting rights, but the protests we heard about did not seem to have much supervision.  They looked like masses of people rioting and out of control.


My questions, with the answers I've found after our visit, from chapter 5 are as follows:

How common are pulperías now?

In certain areas, pulperías are very common.  In the definition the book gives us, a pulpería is a spot where a town has not formed, but is in between a couple towns.  We did not see this kind of pulpería, but we did see several general stores in our first home-stay.  I did not see one in the second home-stay, but I would not be surprised if there had been one since we did not get to hang out in the town much.

How prevalent is alcohol in daily life? Sold in pulperías?

Alcohol did not seem to be as prevalent in daily life as it is in the U.S.  Many of the people I know in the U.S. come home from work and grab a beer or a glass of wine just to relax. I never saw the families I met in Costa Rica touch alcohol.  All of this is a relative experience, but it did seem a little less common.  We did not get to see a social gathering, so maybe it is saved for these occasions.  I believe that it is just not apart of their history and has not infiltrated their culture yet.

The economy has rebounded, but have the people truly recovered?

Just like the rest of the world, the economy may have rebounded, but it will take a while for things to go back to the way they were before.  People seemed to be getting along fine, even in the rural areas.  Since Costa Rica is a unique country without many uprisings or an army, they may have been able to avoid some of the world economic problems as well.  They are still a developing country, and appear to be sustaining themselves just fine.

Does political persecution still exist?

Political persecution has to exist in some quantity, but probably not in as bold of a manner.  Since the army was abolished, the country has to be more peaceful than others.  We did not talk much about the government during this trip, but I was able to make a few assumptions from what we did see.  The Ticos seem to be able to deal with whatever comes their way in take in stride much easier than other cultures.