08/13/2026
After our report on abuses faced by migrant coffee workers in Costa Rica, we heard from critics, farm owners, and now the Costa Rican government itself. Here’s where we stand.
We never claimed all farms are abusive. We said abuses were repeatedly documented, widespread, and persistent. “Not all farms” doesn’t erase the ones where workers were harmed. It’s the same logic as “not all men” or “not all cops.”
Our findings come from field research in Coto Brus and Tarrazú — interviews and site visits, cross-referenced with data from ICAFE, CCSS, MTSS, and the Ministry of Health. We named some farms. We protected others to guard against retaliation.
This isn’t about vilifying Costa Rican coffee. We recognize real progress such as Casas de la Alegría, SITLAM, health coverage. But with roughly 70,000 migrant workers arriving each season and only 43 Casas de la Alegría, and a right to unionize on paper that means almost no farmworkers are actually unionized, current efforts don’t match the need.
We also take seriously a February 2026 letter from Costa Rica’s own Judicial Investigation Unit documenting 19 deaths of Ngäbe-Buglé children in coffee-growing communities, calling them preventable. Over 500 individuals and roughly 100 organizations across Costa Rica and Panama have since called on the government to act.
Our goal isn’t to punish farmers doing right and in fact, we highlight several as models. What we want is a coffee industry where migrant workers have real access to dignity and rights.
Our full response is available on our website. We remain open to dialogue.
🔗https://coffeewatch.org/al-gobierno-de-costa-rica/
