Like Castro, Gueverra, and Sandino, Jose Figueres Ferrer holds a place as one of the most important revolutionary and political forces in Latin American history. This so-called “father of modern Costa Rica'; led his country to revolution and eventual democracy. Known affectionately as “Don Pepe'; by his admirers, Figueres was both an enemy of communist and a thorn in the side of the United States. While putting down a communist regime and allying himself consistently with the U.S., Figueres was also a strong socialist and nationalist and would prove to be an enigma to U.S. policy makers during his terms as president. Despite the praise and admiration that Figueres enjoyed, a much darker side to his administration as well as an unmistakable duality in his dealings with the U.S. and democracy itself is seen in his political history.
Following a time of democracy in Costa Rica, in the early 40’s, then president Rafael Calderon allied himself with the Costa Rican communist party, Vanguardia Popular as well as the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza. Figueres would then give a radio speech disdaining Calderon and his actions which would lead to Figueres’ exile to Mexico in 1942. (Cockcroft, 232) Figueres returned in 1944, and an alleged fixing of the 1948 Costa Rican election was the window that he had been waiting for. Supported by the governments of Guatemala, Cuba, and the U.S., Figueres and his Army of National Liberation would force the surrender of President Picado, a puppet of Calderon, and the
Vanguardia forces, Figueres would seize control of Costa Rica as the head of the revolutionary junta for eighteen months. Control was then turned over to the rightful winner of the 1948 election, and Figueres would return for three terms as president, the first in 1953 and the final beginning in 1970. (Longley, 3)
During his interim term following the revolution and his subsequent terms as president, Figueres would institute a number of changes that would steamroll Costa Rican democracy. Don Pepe began by extending suffrage and full political rights to blacks and women, a certain democratic move. He then instituted a ten percent tax on the very wealthy, which had no considerable backlash politically in Costa Rica due to the surprisingly large middle class. Figueres also established a presidential term limit and created an independent Electoral Tribunal to oversee future elections. In perhaps his most amazing and debated decree, Figueres disbanded the government army, thus protecting himself from the possibility of an out of hand military.
Francisco Franco (1892-1975) was a lifelong military leader. He rose through the ranks until the early 1930s, when he found himself, a right-wing monarchist, in the middle of a left-wing republic. He was demoted, but later rose up again, and by 1935 he had been named chief of staff of the Spanish Army, a position he used to get rid of left-wing figures and their military institutions. When the left- wing social and economic structure of Spain began to fall, Franco joined the rebellion. He soon led an uprising and took control of Spain after the Spanish Civil War (1939). From then unti...
Fidel Castro led a revolution with the help of Che Guevara and his brother Raul. At the time before the revolution Fulgencio Batista was in power at the time. Many did not agree with his dictator ways. According to The Caribbean: A History of the Region and Its People by Stephan Palmie and Francisco A. Scarano
By April of 1915, Villa had set out to destroy Carranzista forces in the Battle of Celaya. The battle was said to be fought with sheer hatred in mind rather than military strategy, resulting in amass loss of the Division del Norte. In October of 1915, after much worry about foreign investments, in the midst of struggles for power, the U.S. recognized Carranza as President of Mexico. When Pancho Vill...
To understand the machinations of General Guardia, we must first look briefly at Costa Rica’s historical situation. As noted by innumerable books and articles on the subject, the term “Costa Rica” was something of a misnomer for the country until the coffee-boom of the 1830s and 40s. The “rich coast” was named, as legend has it, by Christopher Columbus himself after landing there in 1502 and seeing natives adorned with gold. Ironically, the natives witnessed by Columbus were not natives at all, but invading members of the Carib tribe that had brought their own gold to this relatively poor place. True to form, Columbus displayed a stunning misinterpretation of the facts and coined the site “Costa Rica” (Watkins). This “discovery” in 1502 would, as in the rest of Latin America, herald the end of life as the indigenous knew it. For the next 300 years Costa Rica would find itself under Spanish control, yet this burden was significantly lightened by the absence of riches the Europeans craved. These long centuries under Spanish influence would find Costa Rica in the position of the periphery, relatively spared from the harsh rule often employed in more profitable sectors.
The history of political instability in Mexico and its need for revolution is very complex and dates back to the colonization of Mexico by the Spaniards in the 1500s. However, many aspects of the social situation of Mexico when the Revolution broke out can be attributed to the thirty-year dictatorship of President Porfrio Diaz, prior to 1911. The Revolution began in November of 1910 in an effort to overthrow the Diaz dictatorship. Under the Diaz presidency, a small minority of people, primarily relatives and friends, were in ...
The seeds of the Guatemalan Civil War were sown in the early 1940s. Left-leaning dictator Jorge Ubico was forced to leave his post in response to general dissatisfaction. His replacement, Gen. Juan Federico Ponce Vaides, a powerful army officer, was deposed just two months later by a coup led by a junta of mid-level army officers. This government organized free elections, Guatemala's first ever, and the writer and philosopher Juan Jose Arevalo was elected president. Arelavo referred to his philosophy as "Arevalismo", a kind of Christian socialism that touted liberalism and labor reforms. Many critics of his policies believed them to be essentially communism or, as one put it, "an attempt to beguile a misguided poor people with the promise of happiness." Still, he was popular inside Guatemala and instituted a period of greater freedom than had been experienced previously.
Fidel took part in the revolutions in Cuba from 1947-1950 and was very badly beaten in some of the early clashes with some of the government officials bodyguards. After the failure of the early rebellions he travelled to Colombia and took part in the communist revolution there, and returned to Cuba a well known and prestigious figure. He married into an upper cl...
From July 26, 1953 to January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro led an uprising against the incumbent Cuban president, Flugencio Batista. This insurrection, known as the Cuban Revolution, was successful in the overthrow of the Batista government and implemented a socialist state under Castro’s rule. By 1961, Fidel Castro became the undisputed leader of Cuba with strong popular and military support. Although Castro was the figurehead for revolution in Cuba, his brother Raúl and friend Ernesto “Che” Guevara were instrumental in helping the revolution to succeed. Guevara, an Argentine native, was passionate about guerrilla movements and social revolution.
This article gives information about the history of Venezuela’s latest constitution. It also explains, in depth, some of the more important, and in some cases controversial, changes in this new constitution.
The rebellion against Nicaraguan leader Anastasio Somoza Debayle was supported by virtually all sectors of Nicaraguan society. The FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) spearheaded the revolt through the support of the poor, the working class, students, businessmen, professionals, the Roman Catholic Church and various oppositional political parties. Somoza had alienated all of society including, “the upper class with his disastrous economic policies which threatened the economic well-being of the propertied and entrepreneurial class.” (Booth, 125) He also alienated t...
It is the guiding proposition of this paper that the aforementioned Exceptionalism is due to a combination of visionary state building efforts on the part of local political actors, and a series of fortuitous circumstances present in the early stages of the process. The paper has been divided into SEVEN sections, each with subtitle in the form of a name of an important figure from Costa Rica’s collective historical memory. This division seeks to allow for the reader to navigate the different stages in the formation of the Costa Rican state with ease, but also to illustrate the way in which these notable individuals became symbols of their epoch and, more importantly, of their legacy and the impact their actions had on the formation of a national identity.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a doctor and revolutionary in Bolivia, was assassinated by the American CIA for many political reasons, thus becoming a legend and idol after the Latin American Revolution. In the United States Che is remembered only as a relic of the 1960 revolution. In Europe he became a pop icon among the youth with little or no historical reference. Only in Cuba does his legacy stand for the hope and faith of the Latin American people.
Rebellions began when the Marines left, and the American force returned in 1926. An election was held under American supervision in 1928, and General José Mara Moncada, a Liberal, was chosen president. One Liberal leader, however, Augusto César Sandino, engaged in a guerrilla war against U.S. forces for several years. The marines were withdrawn in 1933, leaving Anastasio Somoza commander of the National Guard. Somoza had Sandino killed and was elected president in 1937.
In order to fully understand why the Cuban Revolutionary War occurred, it is important to know what was happening in Cuba before the war, what was influencing Cuban decisions at that time, and what precipitated the revolution where eventually Fidel Castro came into power. In 1933 General Gerardo Machado ruled the tyrannical government in Cuba, but his regime began to disintegrate. Enter a young Cuban Army Officer, Fulgencio Batista who had caught the attention of the Cuban people. Batista began a campaign to take over the rule of Cuba. His effort was successful as he allied with unions and student groups and because the Machado regime had effectively fallen apart. Batista was Cuba’s president in the early 1940’s and ran again for President in 1952. Before the elections could be completed, Batista was afraid he would lose the election, so he seized power without warning and cancelled the elections.
The Cuban Revolution, also partaken as the 26th of July Movement, was an armed rebellion against the Cuban President Fulgencio Batista led by Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro was very idiosyncratic towards politics and therefor joined law school at the University of Havana. In 1950, Fidel Castro graduated from law school and began practicing law. Embracing his strong interest in politics, Fidel Castro decided to become a candidate for a seat in Cuba’s House of Representatives during June 1952 elections. Before elections could be held, however, Fulgencio Batista successfully coup the previous Cuban government and cancelled the elections. Fulgencio Batista would jail his opponents and use terrorist methods to make himself and his associates a fortune. Fidel Castro, wanting to establish a communist gover...