Costa Rican Civil War

Costa Rican Civil War
Part of the Cold War
Monument in memory of those who died in the Civil War of 1948, located in Ernesto Zumbado park in Santa María de Dota.
Date 12 March – 24 April 1948 (1 month, 1 week and 5 days) Location Costa Rica Result Rebel victory Overthrow of the Nicaraguan-backed authoritarian president Teodoro Picado Michalski Installation of a provisional government led by the USA-backed transitional president José Figueres Ferrer Costa Rican military abolished after nearly half a century of its establishment Constitutional assembly is elected A new Constitution is created and enacted Provisional government transfers power to Otilio Ulate
Belligerents
National Liberation Army Ulatista Forces Caribbean Legion Supported by:  Guatemala  United States	Government of Costa Rica Calderon forces People's Vanguard Party Nicaraguan National Guard
Commanders and leaders
José Figueres Ferrer Frank Marshall Jiménez Otilio Ulate Blanco	Teodoro Picado Michalski Rafael Calderón Manuel Mora Anastasio Somoza
Casualties and losses
approx. 2,000 killed

Part of a series on the
History of Costa Rica
Pre-Columbian History Spanish Conquest New Spain Independence Mexican Control Federal Republic of Central America Free State of Costa Rica League War First Costa Rican Republic (1848–1948) 1870 coup d'état 1917 coup d'état Dictatorship of the Tinoco Brothers The Liberal State 1948 Costa Rican Civil War Founding Junta of the Second Republic 1949 Constitution The Reform State COVID-19 pandemic in Costa Rica
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The Costa Rican Civil War took place from 12 March to 24 April 1948. The conflict followed the presidential elections of 8 February 1948, in which opposition candidate Otilio Ulate defeated the ruling party's Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia. The pro-government representatives who dominated the Legislative Assembly alleged that that Ulate's victory was fraudulent, and on 1 March, the legislature voted to annul the results of the election. This triggered an armed uprising led by José Figueres Ferrer, a businessman who had not participated in the elections, against the government of President Teodoro Picado.

The uprising was resisted by the small, ill-equipped Costa Rican army and, more significantly, by the militias of the Communist People's Vanguard Party, which was part of the governing coalition in the Legislative Assembly and had voted to annul the presidential elections. Figueres' rebels rapidly defeated the government forces and their Communist allies, forcing President Picado to step down and leave the country along with former president Calderón Guardia. About 2,000 people are believed to have died during the war, making it the bloodiest event in 20th-century Costa Rican history.

After the war, Figueres toppled the army and ruled the country for 18 months as head of a provisional government junta, which oversaw the election of a Constitutional Assembly in December. That Assembly adopted the new 1949 constitution, after which the junta was dissolved and power was handed to Ulate as the new constitutional president.

Costa Rica has since experienced some riots, but no political violence reaching the severity of the civil war.