Evening star., 1932-03-13
BY GASTON NERvAL

i wv Costa Rica reached Wash
| ington. three weeks ago,
| students of Latin American
politics were not quite so surprised as
| they would have been under different
| circumstances.
1t is true that Costa Rica had been
| for decades one of the outstanding
examples of internal stability and
order in that part of the world. 1t is
true that. contrary to the record OF
| other Caribbean nations, domestic
| peace had been one of the virtues OF
| of which proud Costa Ricans boasted
| But during the present period OF uni
versal discomfort, worldwide economic
| depression and general upheavals, one
more violent outbreak against the
constituted order of things could
surprise no one. even If it happened in
| Costa Rica, the nation with the
smallest army in the world and un-
doubtedly the best politically developed
of the Central American States.
Revolutions Were Fashion.
Revolutions had been the fashion in
Latin America for the last two years.
Important social. political and economic
factors had combined to disturb internal
peace in almost every one of the Latin
republics to the south of the Rio
1
and Brazil which only few years be-
fore seemed immune.
One by one the governments of the
most important Latin American coun-
tries had been overthrown in a series of
revolts which, because of their origin,
aims and manner of realization, ap-
peared quite different from the old
fashioned, solely personalistic and
meaningless revolution which used to
be typical of that section of the globe.
| When further reports, however, added
that the uprising in San Jose was led by
one of the presidential candidates de-
feated at the polls only a few hours
before, those same observers who had
taken the Costa Rican turmoil as only
one more chapter in the general process
OF political renovation prevailing
throughout Latin America became
alarmed.
Justified in Alarm.
And they were justified in their
The rebellion of man who scarcely a
few hours before had been defeated in
the presidential elections certainly
revealed different motives and ideals
from those which animated the revolu-
tions in other Latin republics in the
last two years.
Besides, other factors contributed to
darken even more the nature of the
revolt led by Senor Manuel Castro
Quesada in San Jose. In the first
place, there were no paramount social
or economic problems in Costa Rica
necessitating an immediate solution
which, neglected by the government,
could have been a Justification for a
violent change of authorities
There was not an autocratic ruler in
the presidential palace of San Jose. Costa
Rico was not governed by dictator,
not even by so-called "strong-han
man who might have done away with
individual liberties, as was the case in
most of the other Latin American
countries upset by revolution. There
was no class domination, no grouu
oligarchy, no personal grip that Senor
castro Quesada could put an end to.
Moreover, the elections had been fair
Not only impartial observers, but even
opposition leaders, had declared that
the presidential elections had been
literally conducted, with an evident
absence Of disorders or Irregularities
which IS not an unusual thing in Costa
R1ca. For years Costa Rican elections
have been pointed to as the most
orderly and fair in Central America
Only Plausible Excuse.
That is the only excuse which the
repel leader could have used, If not as
| a justification, at least as an explar,a-
ton of his attltude-the partiaiitv of
the present authorities against his can
didacy in the elections-cid not exist.
Far from 1t, large sector of the cleo
torate believed that Senior Castro Que
sada had been the beneficiary of Ger
tain government influences derived
from his close friendship with the min
ister OF public safety WAR, a son-in-
law OF the President of the republic.
Ihls friendship, by the way, and the
manner in which Senior Castro Ouesada
seemed to have used it to gain the
defeat in the polls, to carry out his
armed coup d'etat, augmented the sus-
plclons OF outside observers.
further affront was seen in the
TACT that foreign adventurers- -Nicara-
guam mercenar1es-were being used in
tne Tray by Castro Quesada and his
supporters. A cable dispatch from San
Jose asserted that "the ill-feeline against
Castro Quesada, Gen Jorge Volio and
Col; Amadeo Vargas. the leaders of the
uprising, was caused primarily by the
circumstance that many of their men
stormlng the Bella Vista Fort were pro-
| 4NASdA 6udu T6VOluLfOllSJS VINO
nao been hired for the occasion"
Typical Coup.
Here were all the characteristics of a
! typical, old-fashioned coup for ambi-
tious personalistic purposes. A presi-
Dental candidate who, upon learning of
his defeat at the elections, and even be-
lore the last returns reached the capi-
tal, mad attacked and taken by surprise
| one OF the local army barracks, and,
in open rebellion, was determined to
impose upon the Costa Rican people.
with the aid of rifles and machine guns,
the rule they had just rejected at the
polls.
For those who had been praising the
progress of political development in the
| Central American states this was a real
motive OF discouragement and alarm.
| The success Of the defeated candidates
revolutionary plans would have brought
back the treacherous and bloody meth
ods Of old times. Democratic progress
was at stake in Costa Rica.