san-jose.cr
A story of a people:
Social disparage was a disease that appeared to bypass the society of Costa Rica as a whole during the long years of Colonial rule and still well within the first years of the republic. Ticos had long lived isolated from the wealthy and absurdly socially divided centers of Spanish control and as result, poor and rich alike, all struggled daily to survive in what was known as the poorest outpost of the Americas.
Commerce came later during the XIX century and with it came all social issues so common of the more developed enclaves.
Society was ripe for change, and even thou the impoverished folk of the underdeveloped early neighborhoods of San Jose had received some benefits from the Liberal policies of the heads of state during the last and early years of the XX century, no welfare programs existed, nor did labour law or any such related and fundamental social backbone programs. The Ala Izquierda Estudiantil was born (the Students Left Wing as it may be called) from disenfranchised students who viewed in the Marxist and Leninist revolution the likeness for more equal Costarican society.
The Communist Party of Costa Rica was born June 6th, 1931. It immediately answered –or some would say contested- the tribulations of the first worker related macro-issues of the country. They faced the retributions of the 1929 world financial crisis, the Banana Strikes of 1934, syndicalism and advocated the defense of the ideals that negated the pervasiveness of fascism –which was likely to succeed politically in Costa Rica as it had done elsewhere in the globe-.
During the decade of 1930 is when the Party truly envisions itself in fighting the main queue of injustices and democratic failures. The church –then ruled by the bourgeoisie- immediately denies the accusations raised by the party’s chairman Manuel Mora Valverde. In 1939, and given the momentum gained by the communists from the public sector, they choose Mora Valverde as candidate to the country’s presidential election. The liberals immediately pick Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia as their posterboy and perpetuator of the liberalism the bourgeoisie was so accustomed to. The stratagem backfires, and it is then that Calderon Guardia, with the cooperation of Mora Valverde and other related communist adherents who bring about the creation of the Costa Rican social state. During his presidency and within only a few years of the original struggle, the Codigo de Trabajo (Workers Law) is declared protecting all labourers in aspects as wide as rights and minimum pay. The Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (Costarican Chair of Social Insurance or Costarican Board of Social Insurance) is also created, bringing to birth the first modern health system of the whole Americas.
A twist in national political affairs was taking place. Calderon was slowly moving away from his oligarch sponsorship and assuming what was then coined as Social-Cristianismo (Social Christian movement). The church now headed by Monsignor Sanabria also supported Calderon and the newly formed Syndicate-Union groups also joined Calderon’s idea of social support. Calderon is thus widely regarded by a large portion of the population as a father of the nation.
The Communists and Calderon eventually fell into disarray and the civil war of 1948 ended the active involvement that the Communist sector previously enjoyed in the government’s agenda. Truman’s influence in posterior years and the victory of Figueres Ferrer over Calderon’s power pretensions opened a new chapter in the evolution of Costa Rica’s strong political life.
Communism however doesn’t represent the same taboo that it does for most other nations. While it did adhere to the anti-bourgeoisie ideals of the European Marxism, it still managed to stick solely to the local points of necessity and relevance. Communist thinkers, politicians and writers are still revered by many as essential characters in the development of Costa Rica in the 20th century. We will dedicate many future articles to the study of the intellectual and social work of many of these talented folk.
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