Demilitarization in Costa Rica
Authors: Høivik Tord , Aas Solveig 
Published: March 2007

Costa Rica is an apparent exception to the trend towards military regimes, violent changes of power and local wars in Third World countries. In this Central American republic with about 2 million inhabitants, the armed forces were disbanded in 1948. For over 30 years Costa Rica has maintained a stable civilian government without a regular army, though surrounded by dictatorships.

We discuss the history behind the abolition of the Costa Rican army, consider the country's handling of external and internal conflicts since 1948, present the growth of its paramilitary forces, and evaluate the reality of its public policy of demilitarization. Our main conclusion is that Costa Rican demilitarization was a response to an internal conflict rather than a deliberate international policy. The country has actually built up police forces that are used against labor and peasant unrest. But it is also the case that demilitarization has been stressed so consistently in policy declarations that regular military build up has been inhibited. Costa Rica is partly demilitarized, but may become more or less so in the future.

1. See also Kjell Skjelsbæk: 'Militarism, its Dimensions and Corollaries: An Attempt at Con ceptual Clarification,' Journal of Peace Research, XVI (1979), 3, pp. 213-229, and Miles Wolpin: Militarization and Social Welfare in the Third World. Oslo: PRIO, 1981. 40 pp. (S-4/81).

2. J. D. Cozean, The Abolition of the Costa Rican Army, Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1966, p. 31.

3. op. cit. p. 33.

4. S. Stone, La dinastia de los conquistadores. La crisis del poder en la Costa Rica contemporanea, Editorial Universitaria Centroamericana (EDUCA), San José, 1976.

5. D. Tobis, 'United Fruit is not Chiquita', in S. Jonas and D. Tobis, Guatemala, North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), New York, 1974, p. 122-131 and M. A. Seligson, 'Agrarian Policies in Dependent Societies: Costa Rica', Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Af fairs, 19, 2 (1977), pp. 201-232.

6. Q. Duncan and C. Menendez, El negro en Costa Rica, Editorial Costa Rica, San José, 1978.

7. The history of the civil war is well covered — see, e. g., M. Acuña, El 48, Libreria, imprenta y litografía Lehmann, S. A., San José, 1974, O. Aguilar Bulgarelli, Costa Rica y sus hechos pol iticos de 1948. Problemática de una década, Edi torial Universitaria Centroamericana (EDUCA), San José, 1974, J. P. Bell, Crisis in Costa Rica. The 1948 Revolution, Latin American Monographs No. 24, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 1971, R. Obregon Loria, Conflictos militares y politicos de Costa Rica, Imprenta la Nacion, San José, 1951, and J. Schifter, The Costa Rican Civil War: An tecedents and Projections, Master's thesis, Uni versity of Chicago, Chicago, 1975.

8. S. Stone, ibid, p. 314.

9. J. D. Cozean, ibid, p. 26, and W. L. Worth ington, The Costa Rican Public Security Forces: A Model Armed Force for Emerging Nations?, Master's thesis, University of Florida, 1966, p. 100.

10. O. Aguilar Bulgarelli, La Constitución de 1948: Antecedentes y Proyecciones, Editorial Costa Rica, San José, 1977, pp. 55-56, and C. D. Ameringer, Don Pepe: A Political Biography of José Figueres of Costa Rica, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1978, p. 66.

11. C. D. Ameringer, The Democratic Left in Exile. The Antidictatorial Struggle in the Caribbean 1945-1959, University of Miami Press, Coral Gables, Florida, 1974.

12. M. Monteforte Toledo, Centro America: Subdesarrollo y Dependencia, Volumen II, Uni versidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, México D. F., 1972, p. 182.

13. J. D. Cozean, ibid., p. 59.

14. C. Urcuyo Fournier, Les forces de Securite Publique et la politique au Costa Rica, 1960-1978, Diss. Université de Paris V, Paris, 1978.

15. The U. S. Secretary of State Lansing sent a telegram which read: '... the Government of the United States under no circumstances can consider Mr. J. B. Quiros authorized in any manner to act as President of Costa Rica.' Quiros was given 24 hours to leave office, which he did, M. A. Seligson, Peasants of Costa Rica and the Development of Agrarian Capitalism, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1980, p. 58.

16. U.S. Department of State, Treaties in Force: A List of Treaties and Other International Agree ments of the United States in Force on January 1, 1971, Government Printing Office, Washington D. C., 1971, p. 57.

17. J. C. Ropp, In Search of the New Soldier: Junior Officers and the Prospects of Social Reform in Panama, Honduras and Nicaragua, Ph. D. diss., University of California at Riverside, 1971, and R. N. Adams, Crucification by Power: Essays on Guatemalan National Social Structure, 1944-1966, University of Texas Press, Austin & London, 1970.

18. For the following discussion see Note 7., S. Stone, ibid, and C. D. Ameringer, 1974, ibid.

19. M. Monteforte Toledo, ibid.

20. O. Aguilar Bulgarelli, 1977, ibid, p. 72.

21. Decreto No. 37 de 25 de mayo de 1948, Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, Tomo III, Im prenta Nacional, San José, Costa Rica, 1956, p. 621. (Our translation.)

22. W. L. Worthington, ibid, p. 101.

23. C. D. Ameringer, 1978, ibid, p. 86.

24. C. D. Ameringer, 1974, ibid, p. 216.

25. J. A. Booth and M. A. Seligson, 'Peasants as Activists. A Revaluation of Political Participation in the Countryside', Comparative Political Studies, 12, 1 (1979), pp. 29-59.

26. C. Urcuyo Fournier, ibid, pp. 212, 205.

27. M. Fernandez, A. Schmidt and V. Basauri, La población de Costa Rica, Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 1976, pp. 123.

28. R. Cerdas Cruz, La Crisis de la Democracia Liberal en Costa Rica, Editorial Universitaria Centroamericana (EDUCA), Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, Costa Rica, 1978, pp. 89-92.

29. C. Urcuyo Fournier, ibid, pp. 204-205.

30. J. Schifter, 'La democracia en Costa Rica como producto de la neutralizacion de clases', in Democracia en Costa Rica? Editorial Universidad Estatial a Distancia, San José, 1978, pp. 171-246.

31. V. H. Cespedes S., Costa Rica: La distribu tion del ingreso y el consumo de algunos alimen tos, Publicaciones de la Universidad de Costa Rica, Serie Economia y Estadistica No. 45, Ciudad Uni versitaria 'Rodrigo Facio', San José, 1973.

32. W. L. Worthington, ibid.

33. La Asamblea Legislativa de la Republica de Costa Rica, Proyecto de 'Ley Organica del Min isterio del Interior', Procuraderia General de la Republica, San José, 1978.

34. See Ministerio de la Presidencia, Oficina de Planificación Nacional y Politica Económica (OFIPLAN), Oficina de Presupuesto Nacional, 'Datos relevantes del Presupuesto Nacional, de ingresos y egresos del Gobierno Central. Ejercicio fiscal 1978', Imprenta Nacional, San José, 1978, H. I. Blutstein, et al., Area Handbook for Costa Rica, American University Foreign Area Studies Division, Washington D. C., 1969, p. 270, and Urcuyo Fournier, ibid, pp. 401-403.

35. J. Saxe-Fernández, 'The Central American Defense Council and Pax American', in I. L. Horo witz, et al., Latin American Radicalism, London, 1969, pp. 75-101, and S. Jonas, 'CONDECA Mil itary Maneuvers', NACLA's Latin America & Empire Report, 11, 3 (1977), pp. 38-39.

36. Urcuyo Fournier, ibid., p. 327.

37. This sparked off a discussion of whether Costa Rica was militarizing, the best known con tributions beeing those of John Saxe-Fernandez and Mario Fernandez Arias, both titled 'The Mil itarization of Costa Rica,' and first published in Costa Rica in 1971. A more recent and more substantial work, motivated by the same events, is the French doctoral dissertation of Constantino Urcuyo Fournier from 1978.

38. A. Stepan, Authoritarianism in Brazil, 1977, p. 130.