Sir

Small is beautiful, but when you are small nobody sees you. Democratization of Latin America is our chance to progress as a region, as your supplement on Science in Latin America demonstrates (Nature 398 (Suppl. 1 April); 1999 ). The articles on recent developments in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Cuba are inspiring. But only the largest countries of the region were considered. There are also small countries that have scientists who are trying to make a difference.

Costa Rica has a population of 3.5 million and a research budget much smaller than the US$108 million indicated in the figure on page A5 of the supplement. Yet it produces more scientific papers than much larger and richer countries. It has been an uphill challenge for us, however. The government is unsupportive of science, and we suffer all the maladies described in the supplement.

Even so, Costa Rica has managed to be the science powerhouse of Central America, and we will continue our fight to advance science in this minuscule country.