José Figueres Ferrer
José María Hipólito Figueres Ferrer (born September 25, 1906 in San Ramón , † June 8, 1990 in San José ) was a Costa Rican politician . He was the founder of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN). From May 1948 to November 1949, from 1953 to 1958 and from 1970 to 1974 he was President of his home country. He is considered one of the most important politicians in Costa Rican history.
Life
Ferrer was born the eldest of four children to a doctor and a teacher who immigrated to Costa Rica from the Spanish region of Catalonia . From 1924 to 1928 he studied in Boston , United States . In Costa Rica he bought a farm where he grew coffee and hemp .
From 1940 he led political discussions with his lawyer Alberto Martén and his partner , the MP Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich . On July 8, 1942, one of these discussions was broadcast live on Radio America Latina . The corruption of the Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia government was named in the discussion . The broadcast was interrupted by the government. Orlich enjoyed immunity as a member of parliament. Figueres was arrested and deported to Mexico on July 11, 1942. From the Centro de Estudios de los Problemas Nacionales and the Acción Demócrata , the Partido Social Demócrata was formed in 1944 , which should end the coalition of the rerum novarum oriented Partido Republicano Nacional and the Vanguardia Popular .
Luis Rafael de la Trinidad Otilio Ulate Blanco ran against Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia in the presidential elections on February 8, 1948. The electoral authority Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica declared Ulate as the elected candidate. The parliament, which was dominated by the previous government coalition and confirmed by the election, did not, however, pass a law which appointed Ulate as president, but instead canceled the election on March 1, 1948 for alleged electoral fraud.
Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República
Santos León Herrera transferred power to a junta , which Figueres presided over and Ulate belonged to. This junta broke the existing constitution because it dissolved the parliament, which had been dominated by the previous ruling coalition, and convened a constituent assembly that drafted the constitution that is in force today. Since the army had behaved neutrally during the civil war, it was abolished in the constitution. The junta nationalized banks. It ruled for 18 months and finally passed the law declaring Ulate president.
From 1953 to 1958 and from 1970 to 1974 Figueres acted as president of the social democratic Partido Liberación Nacional, founded in 1951 . He tried to use various measures to strengthen the private economic sector and the middle class in the country. In addition, he turned against the increasing spread of right-wing military dictatorships in various Latin American countries from the 1960s, and criticized their support by the United States . On May 17, 1957, an assassination attempt on Figueres initiated by Rafael Trujillo failed . In May 1959 Figueres provided logistical support to the guerrillas of Olama and Mollejones, led by Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, to overthrow the Somoza family in Nicaragua .
Ferrer is considered the thought leader and father of modern democracy in Costa Rica, as well as one of the most influential politicians in the country's history. The fact that Costa Rica, unlike most other countries in Central and South America , was largely spared from dictatorships , poverty and protracted civil wars and is now one of the most prosperous and politically stable countries in Latin America, is largely attributed to the effects of the reforms during his reign . José Figueres Ferrer had been married to the Danish-born Costa Rican diplomat Karen Olsen Beck since February 7, 1954 , and their son José María Figueres also served as President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998.
literature
- Nikolaus Werz: José Figueres Ferrer , in: Nikolaus Werz (ed.): Populists, revolutionaries, statesmen. Politicians in Latin America , Frankfurt a. M. 2010, pp. 434-448.
Web links
- José Figueres Ferrer biography on the website of the Partido Liberación Nacional (Spanish, with picture)
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.elespiritudel48.org/docu/h005.htm
- ↑ Time , Dec. 27, 1948, Uneasy Guests
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
|
Santos León Herrera Luis Rafael de la Trinidad Otilio Ulate Blanco José Joaquín Trejos Fernández |
Presidents of Costa Rica Junta May 8, 1948 - November 8, 1949 November 8, 1953 - May 8, 1958 May 8, 1970 - May 8, 1974 |
Luis Rafael de la Trinidad Otilio Ulate Blanco Mario Echandi Jiménez Daniel Oduber Quirós |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Figueres Ferrer, José |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Figueres Ferrer, José María Hipólito (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Costa Rican politician, President of Costa Rica (1948–1949, 1953–1958 and 1970–1974) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 25, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | San Ramon de Alajuela |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 8, 1990 |
| Place of death | San José (Costa Rica) |