Founding Junta of the Second Republic
The Founding Junta of the Second Republic was a
After the end of the
Background
The presidential elections of February 8, 1948, were won by the candidate Otilio Ulate Blanco of the National Union Party, against Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, candidate of the then in government National Republican Party.[1]
The rejection of the result by the "
The Civil War ended with the Pact of the Mexican Embassy on April 19, 1948, through which conversations and negotiations were held between the warring parties. An agreement was reached that established the exercise of the
On May 1, 1948, the Ulate-Figueres Pact was issued, whereby Otilio Ulate Blanco and José Figueres Ferrer agreed, among other things, that the Revolutionary Junta would govern the country without a congress for a period of eighteen months from May 8; Popular elections would be called to elect representatives to a
Ideology
Despite its fierce
Government
Among the first decrees enacted by the Junta were the naming of the different ministers that would assume power: José Figueres Ferrer, President, Benjamín Odio Odio, Foreign Minister; Gonzalo Facio Segreda, Government and Police Minister; Alberto Martén Chavarría, Economy Minister; Uladislao Gámez Solano, Public Education Minister; Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich, Public Works Minister; Bruce Masís Dibiasi, Farming and Industries Minister; Raúl Blanco Cervantes, Public Health Minister; Rev. Benjamín Núñez Vargas, Labor Minister; and Edgar Cardona Quirós, Public Safety Minister.[3]
The Junta also took legislative and executive powers, and the Constitution of 1871 was suspended except in regards to individual, national and social rights.[4]
Persecution of opponents
Despite the Mexican Embassy Pact agreeing to respect the life, property and political participation of all sides, this was not accomplished. Both the Calderonistas and -specially- Communists were persecuted. Raids and arrest of hundreds of left-wing opponents were carried out and many ended up in prison. The National Republican Party and the
All political parties that, at the discretion of the Junta, were against "the democratic order and national sovereignty" were to be banned, and the 105 decree openly mentioned the People's Vanguard Party (legal name of the Communist Party) as banned.
Main achievements
- Creation of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal: The Junta reformed the previously existing National Electoral Tribunal created in Teodoro Picado administration as a mechanism to calm the opposition's suspicions of vice presidents, deputies and aldermen who would accompany Ulate during his period that began in November 1949 (since the positions of vice president and aldermen had been newly created, and the deputies previously elected were Calderonistas as the Republicans had won in the 1948 parliamentary vote and the Junta annulled this result) and another for the constituent deputies that would make up the Constituent Assembly. Figueres, who aspired to be nominated for vice president, was prevented from participating when the Assembly dominated by the Ulatismo established the prohibition of being a candidate to whom was holding government positions or had done so in the months prior to the election.[8][9][10]
- San Carlos Canton, while the first nation-wide election in which women could vote was the 1953 election.[11]
- End of Central Valley of Costa Rica. This became effective with the lifting of mobility bans and with the granting of votes to black and Asian citizens.
- Foundation of the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity: The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity or ICE was founded on April 8, 1949, by Decree-Law No. 449 of the Founding Junta, becoming one of the most emblematic institutions in the country comparable to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund and the University of Costa Rica. The ICE contributed to the development of the country and its welfare state, currently about 98% of the Costa Rican territory is electrified and provides electricity to other countries in Central America.
- Bank nationalization: The nationalization of the banks was made effective by decree-law No. 71 of December 29, 1949 thus turning all private banks to be State-owned. This included emblematic banks such as the Banco Anglo Costarricense and Banco Crédito Agrícola de Cartago. Nationalization, which included the confiscation of private banks, was controversial at the time and was part of the socialist measures endorsed by the Junta.[12] The Junta was seeking to turn the banking system into a non-profit social service.[13]
- Abolition of the army: The Junta abolished the standing army, which was later consecrated in the Constitution, giving the country a history of world-renowned pacifism, political stability and financing of health and education.
Cardonazo
The Cardonazo was an attempted coup d'état carried out on April 3, 1949, in Costa Rica by the then Minister of Public Security of the de facto government, Edgar Cardona Quirós.
Although one of the causes of the war was, coincidentally, the concern of powerful groups of the conservative landowner oligarchy of the
Two in particular caused great disagreement with the conservative groups of the hardest and oligarchic right-wing; the bank nationalization and the 10% income tax. Cardona, supported by these groups, decides to take a coup d'état to depose Figueres by taking the Bellavista Military Barracks along with several rebel soldiers. Cardona requested, in addition to the repeal of these two laws, the resignation of the ministers Alberto Martén and Father Benjamín Núñez.
The government responded immediately by fencing the barracks with military and faithful volunteers (such as Frank Marshall Jiménez), 3 producing a slight confrontation of both sides within the facilities, which allowed Figueres to enter the same negotiation. José Figueres ordered the surrender to which the rebels refused. After several hours of siege they finally surrendered at three in the afternoon with a balance of nine dead and thirty wounded.
Cease
The Founding Junta of the Second Republic ended its functions on November 8, 1949, and in the last session the transfer of powers to Otilio Ulate Blanco proceeded to serve as President of the Republic during the period 1949–1953.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República. 1948-1953" (PDF). Archivo Nacional de Costa Rica. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- ^ Arce Gómez, Celín (May–August 2011). "Notas sobre la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente de 1949". Revista de Ciencias Jurídicas (125).
- ^ "Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República". El Espíritu del 48. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- ^ Mora Chinchilla, Carolina (10 October 2018). "Las elecciones olvidadas: 1948 a 1949" (PDF). Revista Electoral. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Contreras, Gerardo (29 October 2009). Arnoldo ferreto segura y el partido comunista de costa rica en la lucha por la segunda y auténtica independencia nacional. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ De la Cruz de Lemos, Vladimir (18 July 2018). "El Decreto No. 105". La República. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ISSN 1409-469X. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Molina Jiménez, Iván. Estadísticas Electorales según el año. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ Nohlen, Dieter (2005). Elections in the Americas: A data handbook. Oxford. p. 155.
- ISBN 9789968315302. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Fallece la primera mujer que votó en Costa Rica. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ISBN 9977-68-014-0. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ Gutierrez, Maryit (2016). Nacionalización de la banca. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Revolución del 48. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
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