Costa Ricans

Associated with the country for more than forty years, the authors insightfully describe and interpret the character and customs of the people of Costa Rica. Their sympathetic account challenges the myths of equitable income distribution, broad-scale landowning patterns, and Costa Rica as Utopia. In this sense, Costa Rica resembles much of the rest of Latin America. The Biesanzes note, however, that Costa Rica does differ from its neighbors in its peaceful settlement of political disputes, in the commitment to education, and in its blunting of class differences.