Evening star., 1949-11-06

aVsA OSVSo AAAASAA 0AeoAAS 1Oe1NVs ouS
Otilio Ulate. bachelor newspaper
country next door to Panama and
e witnessed by diplomats and high
atoms Of the world, including the
nation because coffee is Costa
Rica's chief export and source Of
revenue. The federal treasury
had been emptied, looted, accord
ing to Costa Ricans, and credit
had to be restored before supplies,
machinery and other necessities
could be purchased from abroad.
To tide over this desperate Sit
uation extra heavy taxes were
collected. A capital levy Of 10
per cent on all fortunes" above
1000 calones. less than $4,000,
was instituted and, in order to
liberalize loans to farmers, the
three private banks Of the coun-
try were nationalized. This
brought loud squawks from a
large element, although by no
means all Of the small wealthy
class.
Constitution Refurhished
From the very first Figueres
had promised to restore civil rule
and turn over the government to
President-elect Ulate. But he and
his advisers decided that certain
constitutional and other legal re-
forms were necessary before this
was done. At any rate. they
called for . Constituent Assembly.
elected by the people. which has
rewritten the constitution.
After the main points in the
new document were agreed upon.
elections were held also to select
the IS members Of the uni
cameral, or single-house. Legis-
lature. Although he has gone
along with most of these steps.
Ulate has not always seen eye to
eye with Figueres. In fact, there
have been . number Of bitter
clashes Of opinion between his
advisers and the Figueres regime.
Apparently there was never a
complete break between the two
men themselves.
Meantime. the Constituent As
sembly seems to have done q cred
liable job Of refurbishing the con-
stitution. The new document
contains several innovations. Many
Of the Figueres economic measures
became fundamental laws of the
land. There is an article that
limits the presidential term to
four years and makes him ineli-
gible to run again until after the
expiration Of two full four-year
terms. Perhaps the most signifl-
cant clause is one which limits
Congressman to q single four-year
term and makes them ineligible
to succeed themselves.
It reaflrms the compulsory vot-
ing provision contained In the old
constitution Of 1871. Costa Rican
tradition holds that, the privilege
Of democratic government and
free elections by secret ballot en-
tails the responsibility of exercis-
ing that privilege. Women also
are granted the right. as well as
the duty. Of full suffrage along
with men.
But there are still political un-
dercurrents Of dissatisfaction, as
there are bound to be after such
a violent upset. The new Presi-
dent cannot even be certain Of
cooperation among his own po-
1itical supporters. Although the
Union National Party, which is
nominally supporting Ulate, has
an overwhelming majority Of 80
out Of the IS seats In the national
Congress, 1t is actually . coali-
ton Of q number Of parties. an
aggregation Of all the groups
which were in opposition to the
candidacy of Calderon Guardia.
The Constitutional Party, repre-
senting remnants Of the Calderon
Guardia followers and the Com
munists, holds six seats. The
Social Democratic Party. which
controls only three seats, is
backed by the intellectuals and
some Of the followers Of Figueres.
Three other minor parties have
one seat each.
Washington Concerned
The economic situation is not
promising. The well-to-do ele-
ments are still champins ct the
bits over the new taxes and par
ticularly the capital levy. The
farmers, although anxious for
peace and tranquility, are still in
difficult straits. The new laws
affecting banks and other finan-
cial agencies, designed primarily
to make it easier for them to ac-.
quire loans and credit, have not
proven as helpful as expected. It
will take time for such measures
to be applied effectively.
A World Bank loan Of from
SIS. ZOO. 900 to $40. 100000 is under
discussion, but that is by no means
certain yet. The Costa Ricans are
Offering what they feel to be very
carefully mapped plans for utili-
zation Of the loan, but these plans
are not altogether In keeping with
the practices Of the bank. Most
loans made by this institution are
for the purchase or financing Of
capital goods and equipment from
abroad. The Costa Rican plan
calls for expenditure OF prac-
tically all OF the money within
the country; to finance and i'm
prove the coffee and cacao, or
cocoa, plantations. and to expand
the dairying industry. which are
the three leading industries Of the