www.CostaRicaTicas.com

The following news item has been in the news for the past several years, culminating this week with the CR authorities saying the 300 Tico family squatters can have this 1000 acre property owned by foreigners.

In the US the constitution allows for govt taking of someone's property for "public" use, eg, build a highway--but with compensation determined by a jury if you can't agree on the value.

In CR, they can take your property for "private" use, and without compensation. I'm estimating I've seen this same kind of squatter issue 10 times in my CR life, and I can't remember once when the owners who lost their land were Tico.

December 12th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) A group of hundreds of campesino squatters have finally managed to expropriate a 425 hectares property from a group of Dutch entrepreneurs after fighting to take control of the property for more than two years.

The fight began on April 8th, 2011, when 316 landless families entered the farm in Medio Queso de Los Chiles in Costa Rica’s Northern Zone, which was owned by a group of Dutch entrepreneurs but was under lease to a Costa Rican.

The families erected makeshift structures and dwellings and claimed the land as their own, claiming the owners were not producing on the land. That claim was denied by the Costa Rican who was leasing the land from the Dutch, however, who said he had made $2 million in improvements to the farm during his leasehold.

Conflict has ensued ever since. Over the next two years, the families would be evicted multiple times by police. Several attempts to remove the families turned violent. The campesinos claimed that in addition to destroying their houses on several occasions, hired guards and police officers killed animals and burnt belongings.

The families would return after each eviction, sometimes within hours, and rebuild.

The situation made national headlines last year when an audio recording of a police officer instructing privately hired guards to “shoot to kill” emerged.

Two years of perseverance by the squatters, however, seems to have paid off, as the Rural Development Institute (INDER) issued resolution 032-2013 this week, which orders the land to be expropriated and given to the campesinos.

Over the years, the campesinos have drawn support from many Costa Ricans, including on social networks. Local daily, Diaro Extra, seemed to welcome the decision by INDER to expropriate the property:

“This is a triumph for rural families of that community,” the newspaper said in an article published today.

“The successful expropriation sets a precedent for struggling campesinos in the country, it shows that INDER is legally qualified to expropriate and distribute land to campesinos who need it,” the newspaper continued.

Yes, the laws are ridiculous, and the government is surely out to screw "rich" foreigners, no doubt about it. But lets pass around the blame to the foreigners as well. If they had done their due diligence, they would know about squatter's rights. Leaving land/property abandoned for more than a year can lead to this shit.

They didn't just give that land to the squatters right away. The owners must have been absent from the property for a long time before land can be given away.

But yes, this is a 3rd world country, so they act like it.

I googled squatters rights in CR and the following 5 year old Tico Times article was the most comprehensive and in plain lingo.

I am sure there's "but this and then if that" but if you're interested, here's a good start.

http://ticotimes.com/costa-rica/squatte ... ers-rights

Maybe Greengo was right all along.

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

Interesting term used about the squatters: precarista (their position is sure enough precarious and usurping) http://www.wordmagicsoft.com/dictionary ... arista.php

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I wish we had a CR lawyer on board. Often a CR legal issue pops up and we get alot of good posts from guys who have been thru a CR legal problem to give his version of how it works, or US lawyers who try to equate.

I'd like to ask a CR lawyer about this squatters thing: What happens to the chain of title in the deed or whatever CR calls a real property deed? It transfers into the squatters names? So does the US equivalent of a "judicial deed" issue to the squatters? The 30 families get the whole 1000 acres? Can they sell it? Who makes the decisions on improvements et al?

Most important, is the decision made by this government agency taking the land and granting it to the squatters appealable to a court?

... And 1 more yoked question, Bro Gersen: who needs to get paid? And how much? And with what ( a job for a relative perhaps ala The Big Banks doing biz in China)? Cynical perhaps but not overmuch. I'm not believing the precaristas (especially the armed-and-dangerous ones) don't have some quasi-official endorsement or cover (Gringo settlers took over large swaths of protected Native American lands with such encouragement, and doubtless such doings are taking place in Brazil and elsewhere today).
Poor CR citizens en masse have critical mass; no other parties can amass that political force. The politicos, to relieve pressure...
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/nod- ... -wink.html

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

This has been happening for years, 10 maybe 15 years ago an ex-pat got into a shoot out with some squatters and killed one, and he was charged. Too many stories about the tico government taking foreigners land. When the tico times use to publish their newspaper there were security firms that advertised they would contract with you, patrol your house or property and evict squatters. Why I'm glad I never bought a house in C.R.
An old ex-pat friend of mine gave me a lot of advise when I was considering moving to C.R. one of which was don't own any property , If it floats, flys or fu**ks... rent it.

"not even tucking your tight lily white ass into a Detroit crack house on a cold rainy night begins to compare"

Great stuff Greengo as usual along with some of the other streams in your post. Thank you.

Maybe not the same thing but closely aligned is the US practicing of civil forfeiture. This article explains more on this odious practice: http://www.economist.com/news/united-st ... g-hand-law << at least in CR, some folks real and needy seem to benefit (cold comfort to those affected, I know). And in Colombia, it was a tool to at least restrain if not break the cartels: http://www.economist.com/blogs/americas ... e_colombia

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED