Costa Rica’s human talent and advanced manufacturing won accolades while analysts argued that the country needs to invest in infrastructure and right its finances.
The ratings agency noted that Costa Rica would likely see an improving economy thanks to a recovering U.S. economy, the country’s largest trade partner, and low international oil prices.
Eurasia Group senior analyst Risa Grais-Targow cited growing challenges for President Luis Guillermo Solís’ ruling Citizen Action Party and a lack of perceived political will to rein in the country’s fiscal deficit among the drivers behind Friday's downgrade.
President Luis Guillermo Solís told representatives from the Costa Rican Banking Association that Moody’s Investor Services' decision to drop Costa Rica’s investment rating to junk status was not a crisis and urged calm during a meeting Wednesday morning. As the public sector tries to hash out how its weakened standing will affect the budget, consumers may have to pay more for loans in dollars.
Many of us in Costa Rica who weren't tuned in to The Ticas' final match in the U-17 Women's World Cup, and who could find a signal for CNN in the U.S., were anxiously awaiting the much-hyped premiere of "Love & Death in Paradise," which promised to get to the bottom of the bizarre death of U.S. expat John Felix Bender in 2010. Instead, we got more coverage of the missing plane.
