The decision to demilitarize started from a proposal to put more money into education and healthcare by the then Defense Minister Edgar Cardona, who passed it to the Interior minister Alvaro Ramos and then, taken to the constitutional assembly by the provisional President at the time, Jose Figueres Ferrer.
But even though Costa Rica has no Army, it has a special police force, officially called the Public Force of Costa Rica (Fuerza Pública). It was established in 1996 by the Ministry of Public Security to perform law enforcement, policing, and border patrol tasks. The force’s motto is “God, Fatherland, and Honor.”
The Effects of Costa Rica not having an Army
The budget previously dedicated to sustaining the Costa Rica Army is put into other aspects of the society like education and health care.
This, in turn, allows for improved political, economic, and social stability. New schools and hospitals lowered the country’s infant mortality and heightened the literacy rate.
Today, Costa Rica’s infant mortality rate is the second-lowest in the region, and the literacy rate is 98%. It also has a higher life expectancy, averaging 80 years old. So, overall, the standard of living has increased.
In fact, in 2012, based on the Happy Planet Index, it was the happiest country in the world!
Population of 5 million.
Costa Rica is the only country in the world whose constitution forbids a national army. Instead, they make do with 560 varieties of butterflies, 830 species of birds and 1200 kinds of orchid. Isn’t that the kind of country you’d like to live in?
– Stephen Fry in the first series of QI.
Man, Stephen Fry has had such a positive influence in my life lmao I first saw him in V for Vendetta, then I found his debates about religion. Really formed me at a young age. Really appreciate that guy.
Stephen Fry literally saved my life by prompting me to get the proper diagnosis with what was going on with me psychologically:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fry:_The_Secret_Life_of_the_Manic_Depressive
I believe it’s on YouTube these days, but I just happened to see his name (I already knew who he was) and download a torrent. My whole life suddenly made sense to me. I was in tears, but it got me to a psychiatrist and got me onto proper medication. I’m glad what I went through is not as severe as what he’s been through, but it definitely could have been the end of me one day…
I probably honestly might have killed myself a few years back if it weren’t for him.
Say what you will about the author of Harry Potter, but the audiobooks narrated by Stephen helped a metric fuckton.
Fry’s own books are super worth as well, but Mythos and Heroes are less personal narratives than HP and I had fond memories.
“This too, shall pass.”
The Fry Chronicles audiobook is also fantastic.
I’m not a Harry Potter fan, but he recently did an audiobook reading of Conan Doyle’s entire Holmes oeuvre, and I love Conan Doyle (not just his Holmes stories), so that should be fun whenever I get to it.
He was also the narrator for an animated show called Pocoyo which my daughter loved when she was young and is very charming.
On top of that, he was the star of Peter’s Friends, which is one of my all-time favorite movies.
Honestly, the only real criticism I can make of him is that he has been in some truly awful TV shows and movies. But a man’s got to eat…
Time for an invasion, boys! First Costa Rica and then Iceland!
No need for arms. Already being invaded by welthy gentrifying from the North. Most locals can’t afford coastal properties any longer.
Damn not the beachfront properties.
Actually there was a time when some wealthy American businessmen hired a private army and tried to take the country over. They succeeded in conquering Nicaragua but the Costa Ricans fought them off. This is the basis of their main national holiday.
Didn’t this happen before Costa Rica abolished their army though?
Yes, I just thought it was an interesting historical fact. It’s also pretty ironic since today CR has friendly relations with the US and in some ways this is what enables them to not have an army.
*Rico
Suave? No, that was Ecuador.
Fun fact: the United States doesn’t have a permanent standing Army either. At least, according to the Constitution it doesn’t.
Most of them are sitting or laying down
I don’t think it is typical for a nation’s armies to be constitutionally prescribed, just in this case their constitution explicitly forbids it.
The US doesn’t supply weapons to countries committing war crimes or genocides. At least, according to its laws it doesn’t.
Unfortunately, the US government constantly violates its own (constitutional) law
I don’t believe this claim to be true. If you insist that it really is true, could you please point to the exact place in the US constitution that prohibits a permanent standing army?
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 12:
“The Congress shall have Power… To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;”
That “no appropriation… for a longer term than two years” part was intended to prevent the establishment of a permanent standing army.
You can also tell that they really meant it because of the contrast with the next clause…
The Congress shall have power… To provide and maintain a Navy;
…which pointedly does not contain any such limitation.
(Also, the real point of the Second Amendment was that the militia – i.e. all able-bodied male citizens between age 17 and 45– should be “well regulated” (which at the time meant “well-trained”) and thus prepared to defend the security of the United States themselves. In other words, it was further reinforcement of the idea not to have a permanent professional army.)
What about Clause 14, though?
To make rules for Government and Regulation of the LAND and naval forces
Or is that just relating to, what I’m understanding as, when the government calls for the militia to “stand”? As in Clause 16.
I mean clause 12 does give Congress the power to raise a real army, it’s just that it’s not supposed to stick around for more than two years at a time. In other words, it’s supposed to be a temporary thing during wartime and then go away afterward.
There’s no conflict with clause 14 because it’s about Congress’ power to govern and regulate the army during that two-year (or less) period while it’s raised (as well as to govern and regulate the navy all the time).
Seems to me like Clause 14 might not apply to the militia mainly because Clause 16 would cover it more specifically (e.g. delineating the separation of governance between militia under state control vs. militia under Federal control).
How much oil does Costa Rica have?
I’m more proud to be Costa Rican than to be American at this point. Something like 95+% of our electricity comes from green energy, and we have a goal to achieve 100% in a short timeline. We also have fantastic food and produce.
Another fun fact is that the government owns an alcohol distillery that was set up in an attempt to curb illicit distilling in the 50s. It’s now a point of national pride. The distillery is FANAL, they make Cacique
I visited Costa Rica on a business trip around twenty years ago. The thing that blew my mind was every person in the building, after we got back from lunch, trooping to the bathroom and brushing their teeth. That’s public health done right.
Immediately afterwards? I’ve been told to wait at least half an hour after eating, or else brushing will have a negative effect on your teeth.
Well, it was twenty years ago, so my memory might not be fresh, but we would go out to lunch, then head back to the office, so there was some elapsed time in between.
*Costco
