Costa Rica Blog

Medtronic is a medical technology company and is a world leader in medical device manufacturing. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. It employs over 90,000 people across 150 countries, one of which is Costa Rica. As of 2019, the company had reached 500 employees at the facility they established in the country in 2017. This factory primarily produces components used in spine surgery devices and spine surgery procedures. They produce 6.5 million units annually. The company recently announced another facility to be finished this year, 2024, in Costa Rica. The facility will total approximately 5000 square meters.

Costa Rica is a hotspot for transnational corporations because of its location between the US and South America and receptivity to new industry. The Executive Vice President and President of Medtronic’s Restorative Therapies Group, Geoff Martha, remarked on how Costa Rica’s “positive conditions for investment, particularly regarding qualified human talent, and strategic location, drove [the company] to choose Costa Rica as the location to establish another manufacturing facility”.

Socially, Medtronic facilities employ many people, reaching 600 employees in recent years. The company also partnered with Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA) to train students in skills necessary to the medical device industry and promotes gender equality in their work. However, only 36% of board members in the company are women, and many of those in leadership roles are white men. Economically, the company says it promotes development and growth. However, this growth is primarily benefiting the transnational company instead of staying within the country. Environmentally, the company reports it has reduced greenhouse gas emission intensity by 35% and is working on energy efficiency. However, they do not report their emissions rates. The corporate building in Costa Rica did obtain a LEED platinum rating, which indicates proficiency in efficient water use, energy saving, waste management, sourcing building materials, and sustainable design. All articles I could find were from pro-development and corporate websites.

This company is an example of neo-colonialism in Costa Rica, as many transnational corporations are. Though it provides jobs and education, its primary goal is to generate revenue for the company and use the labor and resources of the country for its own gain. The company is controlled from the outside, leaving little agency for the local people.

“Medtronic Costa Rica Obtains LEED Platinum Certification for the Operation of Its Corporate Building.” Coyol Free Zone – Costa Rica | Central América, Coyol Free Zone, 1 July 2022, coyolfz.com/medtronic-costa-rica-obtains-leed-platinum-certification-for-the-operation-of-its-corporate-building/. Accessed 03 Feb. 2024.

“Medtronic Announces New Manufacturing Facility in Coyol, Alajuela.” CINDE Invest in Costa Rica, CINDE, 11 Sept. 2019, www.cinde.org/en/essential-news/medtronic-announces-new-manufacturing-facility-in-coyol-alajuela. Accessed 03 Feb. 2024.

“Medtronic Celebrates Progress on Social and Environmental Targets in 2023 Sustainability Report.” Medtronic News, Medtronic, 10 Oct. 2023, news.medtronic.com/Medtronic-celebrates-progress-on-social-and-environmental-targets-in-2023-Sustainability-Report. Accessed 03 Feb. 2024.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, is a country in Africa that was subjected to cruel colonial rule. Almost entirely landlocked, the country has a small stretch of coastline of about 25 miles on the Atlantic Ocean. Between the 14th and 19th centuries, the Kingdom of Kongo ruled in the west and the Luba-Lunda states controlled the east. The Atlantic slave trade undermined these kingdoms as outsiders vied to control the trade within the country.

In 1878, King Leopold II of Belgium began to colonize the DRC. He said that his goal was to bring about the end of the slave trade. He convinced 450 Congolese groups to sign treaties with him, allowing him to declare the land his private property in 1885. He named it the Congo Free State, and used a colonial military to commit atrocities against the people of the Congo and force them into the rubber industry. For example, Leopold would kidnap Congolese men’s families and force the men to work brutal jobs in hopes that their families would be returned to them. If they resisted, their villages were burned and families were killed. Leopold’s military was also infamous for cutting off the hands of Congolese people.
Private companies controlled by Leopold extracted natural resources from the country. Rubber concessions led to the deaths of millions of people. Ivory was also an incredibly lucrative resource for Leopold’s regime. His companies forced Congolese village chiefs to support the rubber industry. These concessions impact the stability and development of the country to this day.

After Leopold, the Belgian government ruled the DRC from 1908 to 1960. Though not quite as brutal as the murderous king, the circumstances for the Congolese people were plagued by Belgian’s notion of their superiority and need for complete control. Like Leopold, Belgium maintained control of the nation by entreating local chiefs to rule their own separate peoples according to Belgian interests. There was still forced labor and only white people were allowed to participate in political decisions. White and Black people were racially segregated.

Because of this legacy, the government of the Congo has been unstable, and conflicts still ravage the country.

Below is a refugee camp of people displaced by the constant struggles for power.

Copper mining was initiated in 1910 by the Belgians and it impacts the land still today. Lubumbashi is the second largest city in the DRC, based around the mining industry.

Diamond mining is another extractive industry that exists today.

Belgian architecture such as this synagogue can be seen in the DRC today.

Finally, this train station in Lumbumbashi is a remnant of colonial rule.

Sources

Baker, Aryn. “Inside the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Diamond Mines.” Time, 27 Aug. 2015, time.com/4011617/inside-the-democratic-republic-of-congos-diamond-mines/?xid=newsletter-photos-weekly. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

CATALYST Team. “How King Leopold’s Colonial Legacy Still Haunts the Congo Today.” CATALYST PLANET, 31 July 2023, www.catalystplanet.com/travel-and-social-action-stories/2022/7/26/how-king-leopolds-colonial-legacy-still-haunts-the-congo-today-zxhsd. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

“Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Jan. 2024, www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

Finances, RDC. “Lubumbashi : Accusée de Pollution, l’entreprise Minière CDM Appelle à l’expertise Des Services de l’environnement.” RDC Finance – RDC Économie: Toute l’information Économique de La RDC, rdcfinances.com/autres-secteurs/environnement/archives-environnement/1183-lubumbashi-accus%C3%A9e-de-pollution,-l%E2%80%99entreprise-mini%C3%A8re-cdm-appelle-%C3%A0-l%E2%80%99expertise-des-services-de-l%E2%80%99environnement.html. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

Lagae, Johan. “Belgian Imperialism: The Colonisation of the Congo.” Architectural Review, 25 July 2020, www.architectural-review.com/essays/belgian-imperialism-the-colonisation-of-the-congo. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

Residents of Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula have many ways to make a living. From agricultural products to tourism, there is a wide range of products that originate from this peninsula and are sold both locally and in global markets. This post will discuss five of these products. 

Tourism

The Osa Peninsula juts out from the west coast of Costa Rica. It houses over 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity, a large percentage considering how small the land area is. This incredible plant and animal life attracts tourists from all over the world. This vast tourist base can generate income for the locals, but comes at a cost for the ecosystems that people travel to see. A solution to this is ecotourism, a more sustainable form that promotes sustainable practices and environmental awareness. Ecolodges are a component of ecotourism that host visitors to remote natural areas with sustainability as their top priority. There are multiple ecolodges on Osa, including Bosque Del Cabo, El Remanso, and Lapa Rios. The lodges provide access to nature and revenue to the local community. 

Palm Oil

Costa Rica was the 14th largest exporter of palm oil in the world in 2014, exporting $214 million worth of the product. Oil palms, originating in Africa, are grown in monocultures. After three years of growing the trees produce mature fruits. These fruits are then harvested with a sickle or chisel and sent to be processed in a mill. A quarter of the palm oil generated in Costa Rica is exported to the Netherlands, with other large percentages being sent to Mexico and Spain. United Fruit Company initiated the industry in the 1940s, providing the impetus for a global demand for palm oil as a cheap substitute for other oils such as cocoa butter. 

Cacao

Cacao spread to Costa Rica through Spanish colonization. It has been used by Indigenous peoples for sustenance as well as medicinal and ceremonial purposes, and small farms have used traditional cacao growing practices since the plant was introduced. More sustainable forms of farming such as agroforestry have recently become popularized in the Osa Peninsula. The process of “sowing, tending, harvesting, fermenting, drying, sorting, roasting, and producing” the cacao beans is often carried out within one facility, like at Osa Cacao. Finca Kobo, where we will be staying, grows their cacao along with other fruits and vegetables and produce for the family’s needs as well as their visitors’. 

Gold 

Gold mining has occurred in Costa Rica since pre-Colombian times. Before it became a national park, Corcovado was a major source of gold mining. Many people illegally mined the substance regardless of regulations. Today, gold miners known as “Oreros” left behind by the United Fruit Company have largely been ousted by the government, but those that remain find gold nuggets in the rivers that still contain the scars from the intense mining of the past. Tourism is woven into the gold industry, providing revenue to Osa from tourists who want to learn about the history of mining in the region. 

Sugarcane

Sugarcane is grown throughout Costa Rica, as the fertile soil, bright sun, and wet climate provide the perfect environment for it. Small farms offer tours of their facilities, the traditional ones boasting mills that use oxen and horses to produce the sugar products. One such farm is called Trapiche Don Carmen, which sells their products such as tapa dulce, dulce líquido and sobao to the tourists. 

Sources

“Agriculture at Finca Kobo.” Finca Kobo, 2007, www.fincakobo.com/finca_agri.html.

“Costa Rica Is the Main Exporter of Palm Oil in 2020.” Q COSTA RICA, 18 Sept. 2021, qcostarica.com/costa-rica-is-the-main-exporter-of-palm-oil-in-2020/.

“Ecotourism – Osa Peninsula Tourism Center.” Osa Tourism, 23 Oct. 2023, www.osatourism.com/costa-rica-ecotourism/.

“Osa Peninsula Chocolate – Tourism Information Center.” Osa Tourism, 2 Oct. 2023, www.osatourism.com/osa-peninsula-chocolate/.

“Osacacao.” OsaCacao, osacacao.com/.

Sharma, Devane. “From Seed to Harvest: How Oil Palm Is Grown.” Musim Mas, 1 Dec. 2023, www.musimmas.com/from-seed-to-harvest-how-oil-palm-is-grown/.

“Striking Gold: Cultural History of the Osa Peninsula – Crocodile Bay.” Crocodile Bay Resort, Crocodile Bay Resort Https://Www.Crocodilebay.Com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2019/07/CBR-Logo-Trans-White.Png, 16 Aug. 2018, www.crocodilebay.com/gold-mining-osa-peninsula/.

“Turismo Rural Comunitario Osa.” Trapiche Don Carmen, Rancho Quemado, Inter-American Development Bank, www.gobiernolocalosa.go.cr/turismo/info.php?item=36.