Central America Celebrates Independence
With Hard Look at Corruption, Poverty
By Ryan Felix
and press reports

Together with towns around the nation, San José yesterday commemorated 183 years of Central American independence from Spain, and one morning of independence from the workplace.

The rhythmic beating of countless drums beckoned all within earshot to Calle Central, where masses of people lined the streets paying homage to the independence of a country and the hard work of those who paved a path to freedom.

Friends and families, foreigners and countryman gathered together, unified in celebration and grateful for the beautiful day at hand.

Singing, dancing and bright smiles abounded, the sidewalks pulsed with life, as people filed back and forth in search of an ideal vantage point to observe the procession.

Children clutched ice creams and balloons, cameras shuddered to life and vendors' voices waived through the air.

Costa Rica was joined by the other Central American nations in its celebration today, remembering their independence and the nearly two centuries since of struggle. Poverty, environmental catastrophes, dictatorships, bloody civil wars, and failed attempts at economic and political integration have plagued the isthmus.

Now that the entire region is governed democratically and recent elections have been peaceful, Central America is confronting elevated levels of governmental corruption and poverty, analysts say.

After nearly two centuries of independence, “institutions have been created that from the rhetorical point of view are modern, but the economic and social structure has continued with small variation: there is the same social injustice, the lack of participation and the exclusion of the most marginalized sectors,” Alejandro Serrano, a Nicaraguan philosopher, told AFP wire service.

In Central America, “a regime very similar to the colonial system continues to exist, only now without Spain,” Serrano said.

With a combined population of 38 million, Central American countries face high poverty rates, though Costa Rica's is the lowest – Honduras' is 93.6%, Guatemala's 80%, Nicaragua's 70%, El Salvador's 43% and Costa Rica's 18.5%, according to AFP.

And Costa Rica joins the other Central American countries with its recent corruption scandals, the latest of which came into the public spotlight last week with investigations into former President Rafael Ángel Calderón and several top officials for the alleged misuse of public funds (TT, Sept. 10).

Tuesday night at the passing of the Independence Torch ceremony, just before taking the torch President Abel Pacheco said the light “will frighten the shadows of corruption,” referring to “those who have not understood that they serve the nation and that it does not serve them,” La Nación reported.

At least one couple, however, thought Pacheco himself was the problem – they held a banner that read “ Señor Presidente : when you are unable to govern, it is more dignified to resign.”