Costa Rican Civil War

The 1948 armed conflict in Costa Rica followed a disputed presidential election and ended with José Figueres Ferrer’s forces taking power. It lasted 44 days and reshaped the country’s political institutions.

Costa Rican general election, 1948: A Costa Rican presidential election annulled by Congress after opposition candidate Otilio Ulate was declared the winner. The annulment triggered the armed rebellion that began the civil war.
Legion of the Caribbean: A transnational group of Caribbean and Central American exiles who organized armed opposition to authoritarian governments. Its volunteers and regional networks supported Figueres’s insurgency.
Abolition of the Costa Rican Army: Costa Rica’s 1948 decision to abolish its standing military and rely on civilian security forces. Figueres’s provisional government abolished the army after its victory.
San José: The capital and largest city of Costa Rica, located in the country’s Central Valley. Control of the capital became decisive in the conflict’s final phase.
Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia: Costa Rican physician and politician who served as president from 1940 to 1944 and remained a powerful political figure. His supporters backed the government after the election was annulled.
Pact of the Embassy of Mexico: An agreement reached in 1948 to end Costa Rica’s civil war and arrange a transfer of political power. The pact negotiated the end of fighting and Ulate’s eventual assumption of the presidency.
Costa Rican Constitution of 1949: The constitution that established Costa Rica’s modern democratic institutions and prohibited a permanent army. It gave lasting legal form to institutional reforms following the conflict.
Cartago, Costa Rica: A Costa Rican city east of San José and the country’s former colonial capital. Fighting and strategic movements around Cartago formed part of the campaign for the Central Valley.
Otilio Ulate: Costa Rican journalist and politician who was declared the winner of the 1948 presidential election. The annulment of his victory provided the immediate political grievance for the uprising.
United Fruit Company: A United States corporation that dominated banana production and trade across parts of Central America and the Caribbean. Its Central American presence formed part of the regional economic setting in which the conflict unfolded.

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