Costa Rica News – John F. Kennedy was one of the first U.S. Presidents to visit Costa Rica from March 18 to March 20,1963. The Costa Ricans loved, admired and respected President John F. Kennedy. The President and his entourage came to Costa Rica to attend a summit with the presidents of six countries in Latin American.
This was a historical day in CostaRica because Mr. Kennedy received a huge turnout of Costa Ricans, more than any other Costa Rican event in the country’s history. Costa Rican school children lined both sides of El Paseo Colón to watch President Kennedy’s motorcade pass by.
President Lyndon Johnson was in Costa Rica in July 1968 and President Ronald Reagan visited Costa Rica in December 1983.
Another historic event coincided with JFK’s visit to Costa Rica, the eruption of the Irazú Volcano.Falling ash from the eruption caused heavy damage to infrastructure and life in San José and its surroundings for over a year and spread from Costa Rica to Nicaragua.
Costa Ricans were so enamored by President Kennedy’s visit that they named a park in the suburb of San Perdo after him. The park is located on a corner, across from the church and about 200 meters south of the University of Costa Rica and commuter train line.
The next president to visit Costa Rica was the first president Bush who came to attend a hemispheric summit from October 27-28 1989 at the newly inaugurated Plaza de la Democracia in downtown San José. I vividly remember this event since I went to see the festivities.
In 1997, Bill Clinton came to Costa Rica as the president of the United States for the 1997 Summit of the Americas, where he joined Latin American leaders in pledging commitments to sustainable development. Much like they did when President Kennedy visited, schoolchildren greeted the president as his motorcade worked its way along Paseo Colón on the way to a meeting at the Teatro Nacional in the heart of downtown San José. The president actually mingled with the crowd outside the theater and several people gave him souvenirs. I was there with my young son and witnessed the events of the day.
A couple of things really stood out about Mr. Clinton’s visit. First, when Hilary was interviewed she stated that Costa Rica was one of the countries they really wanted to visit during Bill’s presidency. Also, when the president was about to depart on Air Force One he picked up a large Costa Rican flag and waved it back and fourth several times. I have never seen a U.S. president do anything similar. I guess he was really impressed with our country and its people.
Recently it was announced that President Obama plans to visit Costa Rica on May 3-4th as part of a trip which will also include a visit to Mexico. He will meet with the heads of the Central American Integration System (SICA). This will be the first U.S. president to visit Costa Rica since Bill Clinton’s in 1997. According to a recent Gallup poll seventy-eight percent of Costa Ricans have a favorable opinion of Mr. Obama. This his a higher approval rating than in his own country. Costa Ricans are also convinced that the president’s visit will also improve relations between the two countries.
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Parts of this article was originally published in Christopher Howard’s blog at www.liveincostarica.com/blog
1 comment
Yes, not the first U.S. president, but President Obama is certainly the most important one for the sake of Costa Rica and its benefit to be even more significant than just a tourist attraction and an exporter of coffee.
My biggest surprise upon visiting C.R. is that its citizens seem not to be *good* students of exploitation. All of the small time exploitation I have observed, including the prostitution business, is in fact *small time* in comparison with other countries and how those countries effectively squeeze dollars out of all sorts of major business ventures. After all, running any country is the biggest business venture of all for people who work in the public sector and all the citizens of the country.
Costa Rica should welcome President Obama with open arms and convince him that C.R. will be an effective partner in the things that are important to the U.S. If C.R. does that right, the next day the phone will be ringing in San Jose with China’s Xi Jinping, or his top representative on the other end of the line. And then the bidding war will continue upwards with Costa Rica as the beneficiary.
All the people living in Costa Rica and its administration need to accept the fact that the U.S.A. is the most powerful nation on our planet and that China is the 1st runner up in that category. The relationships C.R. has with other countries in the Americas are important, but they pale in comparison with the interactions with the #1 power and the #2 wannabee power of the world. Step up to the plate, Costa Rica! It’s not enough for your president to make a few international trips to important countries. YOU have to show you have the will to be effective when you receive any form of help from other countries.