When Costa Rica expanded Corcovado National Park, one of the crown jewels of its protected-areas network, government officials agreed to pay hundreds of small-scale gold miners to leave the land. Two decades later, many who claim to be former gold miners—or oreros, as they’re known here—charge the government has failed to hold up its end of the bargain. They’re calling for compensation, and they’ve staged protests in the capital to press their point. Government officials contend that many of those seeking indemnities are trying to scam the system. Over nearly 20 years, they say, the government has paid roughly US$4.6 million to hundreds of people evicted from Corcovado, most of them former miners. Nevertheless, President Abel Pacheco in February proposed... [Log in to read more]