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1953 Costa Rican general election

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Field	Value
country	Costa Rica
flag_year	state
election_date	26 July 1953
module	{{Infobox election
embed	yes
type	presidential
election_name	Presidential election
previous_election	1948 Costa Rican general election
previous_year	1948
next_election	1958 Costa Rican general election
next_year	1958
image1	José Figueres Ferrer cropped.jpg
nominee1	José Figueres Ferrer
party1	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)
popular_vote1	123,444
percentage1	64.71%
image2	Papeleta 1953 cropped.png
nominee2
party2	Democratic Party (Costa Rica)
popular_vote2	67,324
percentage2	35.29%
map_image	Elección Presidencial de Costa Rica (1953) (Distritos Administrativos).svg
map_caption	Results by district
Figueres:
Castro:
Tie:
title	President
before_election	Otilio Ulate
before_party	National Union Party (Costa Rica)
after_election	José Figueres
after_party	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)
module	{{Infobox legislative election
embed	yes
election_name	Parliamentary election
previous_election	1949
next_election	1958
seats_for_election	All 45 seats in the Legislative Assembly
majority_seats	23
party1	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)
leader1	José Figueres Ferrer
percentage1	64.75
seats1	30
last_election1	3
party2	Democratic Party (Costa Rica)
leader2
percentage2	21.19
seats2	11
last_election2	New
party3	National Republican Party (Costa Rica)
leader3	Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia
percentage3	7.21
seats3	3
last_election3	New
party4	National Union Party (Costa Rica)
color4	#104AAE
leader4	Otilio Ulate Blanco
percentage4	6.85
seats4	1
last_election4	35
module	{{Infobox legislative election
embed	yes
election_name	Maps
map	Elecciones legislativas de Costa Rica de 1953 - Diputados por Provincia.svg
map_caption	Results by province

Figueres:
Castro:
Tie:

General elections were held in Costa Rica on 26 July 1953. José Figueres Ferrer of the National Liberation Party won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 67% in the presidential election and 68% in the parliamentary election. Local elections were also held.

This was Costa Rica's first election since the end of the 1948 Civil War, and democratic guarantees were not fully restored.

José Figueres, the caudillo of the victorious National Liberation Army faction in the Civil War, was the candidate of the newly founded National Liberation Party (PLN). Liberal Mario Echandi tried to be the candidate from then-ruling National Union Party (PUN), but his candidacy was denied by the Electoral Tribunal due to purported irregularities in the adherents' signatures. This move was highly criticized by Figueres' opponents as an action in favor of Figueres' candidacy.

As PUN was unable to participate, the only other candidacy alternate to Figueres was made by the Democratic Party, which nominated wealthy industrial magnate Fernando Castro Cervantes. The three parties—PLN, PUN and Democratic—were all formerly united in opposition against the 1940s governments of Rafael Angel Calderón and his allies, who were viewed as having caused the civil war. Yet, after the war, such unification ceased.

The losing sides in the civil war, mostly the Republicans (Calderón supporters) and the Communists, were unable to participate as the Republicans' party was disbanded and the Communist Party was constitutionally outlawed. The Republicans were nonetheless allowed to participate in the legislative ballot with a provincial party in San José called the "Independent" Republican Party, and thereby gained some seats. As expected, Figueres won by a landslide victory.

Background

The 1948 general elections had resulted in Otilio Ulate Blanco, National Union Party's nominee, winning over former president Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia and his coalition of the communist People's Vanguard Party and the socialcristiano National Republican Party. The annulment of Ulate's victory led to a civil war that resulted in the overthrow of the calderonista government and the establishing of the "Founding Junta of the Second Republic", led by José Figueres Ferrer. Figueres, a social democrat, reached a deal with Otilio Ulate in which the Junta would govern with all powers (executive, legislative, judicial) for 18 months, introducing a wide array of reformist policies and would convene the election of a Constituent Assembly. In return, the Junta would recognize the legitimacy of Ulate's 1948 victory and would return power to him on no later than November 8, 1949, making him the first president of the "Second Republic" for a period no longer than 4 years.

The Junta constituted itself as a , suspended the 1871 Constitution, with the exception of the individual and social rights. It published several executive degrees with force of law repealing labor rights consecrated in the Labor Code, with the objective of firing calderonista and communist public employees. Alleging the prevention of any potential rise of militarist tendencies looking to frustrate the consolidation of democracy, the Junta , keeping only a police force to keep national security. Ever since Costa Rica has had no army. Other policies enacted by the Junta include universal suffrage, allowing women, Afro-descendants and illiterates to vote. The Constituent Assembly of Costa Rica, elected in December, 1948 approved a new Constitution, based on the previous one but with several changes, after the first, more progressive draft was rejected.

The new government agreed to maintain the calderonista social and economic reforms, causing discomfort with oligarchic and conservative sectors. Furthermore, Figueres' decision to nationalize all banks and a 10% wealth tax were controversial and led to a failed coup attempt by Public Security Minister Edgar Cardona Quirós, in what is now known as the .

Results

President

By province

Province	Figueres %	Castro %	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
San José Province	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.1	35.9
Alajuela	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.8	32.2
Cartago	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	75.0	25.0
Heredia	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	62.5	37.5
Puntarenas	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	58.4	41.6
Limón	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	54.4	45.6
Guanacaste	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	57.9	42.1
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.7	35.3

Parliament

By province

Province	PLN	PD	PRN	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"		National Republican Party (Costa Rica)}}"		%
San José	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.7	10	11.4	2	17.3	3	6.6	1
Alajuela	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.8	6	26.4	2	-	-	5.7	0
Cartago	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	75.5	5	18.2	1	-	-	6.3	0
Heredia	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	62.2	2	31.1	1	-	-	6.3	0
Puntarenas	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	59.1	3	36.0	2	-	-	4.9	0
Limón	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	55.0	1	30.7	1	-	-	14.3	0
Guanacaste	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	53.2	3	36.0	2	-	-	10.8	0
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.7	30	21.2	11	7.2	3	6.9	1

By canton

Province	PLN	PRN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
San José	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	57.46	22.47	11.44	8.63
Escazú	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	73.40	10.68	13.68	2.24
Desamparados	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	76.91	10.76	7.83	4.49
Puriscal	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	66.38	11.45	16.83	5.34
Tarrazú	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	71.46	8.02	12.79	7.74
Aserrí	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	70.72	12.01	11.95	5.32
Mora	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.85	18.52	9.77	3.86
Goicoechea	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.69	19.35	11.39	4.57
Santa Ana	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	71.19	11.78	14.15	2.89
Alajuelita	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	60.18	18.54	15.13	6.14
Vázquez de Coronado	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	79.23	9.87	5.55	5.35
Acosta	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	71.70	8.61	15.80	3.89
Tibás	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.43	19.77	9.21	3.60
Moravia	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	66.44	16.64	9.95	6.97
Montes de Oca	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	69.27	14.54	9.27	6.93
Turrubares	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	63.50	3.41	27.74	5.34
Dota	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	73.06	9.19	9.52	8.23
Curridabat	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	78.52	10.59	8.12	2.77
Pérez Zeledón	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	84.51	3.04	8.99	3.46
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.70	17.35	11.40	6.55

Province	PLN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
Alajuela	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	64.77	30.75	4.48
San Ramón	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	68.53	19.28	12.19
Grecia	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	66.72	29.60	3.69
San Mateo	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	70.44	24.50	5.05
Atenas	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	68.07	20.91	11.02
Naranjo	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	77.94	18.62	3.44
Palmares	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	69.48	23.82	6.70
Poás	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	77.15	16.44	6.42
Orotina	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	57.80	39.16	3.04
San Carlos	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.07	28.74	4.19
Alfaro Ruiz	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.57	26.98	5.45
Valverde Vega	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	72.82	25.41	1.77
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.81	26.45	5.74

Province	PLN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
Cartago	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	77.45	15.65	6.91
Paraíso	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.86	16.67	12.47
La Unión	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	71.25	23.66	5.09
Jiménez	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	82.89	10.38	6.74
Turrialba	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	67.94	27.13	4.93
Alvarado	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	84.42	13.09	2.49
Oreamuno	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	87.48	6.35	6.17
El Guarco	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	81.08	17.68	1.24
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	75.52	18.23	6.25

Province	PLN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
Heredia	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	62.37	30.37	7.26
Barva	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	59.87	35.39	4.74
Santo Domingo	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	61.36	33.78	4.86
Santa Bárbara	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	66.16	27.55	6.28
San Rafael	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	63.99	27.26	8.75
San Isidro	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	68.64	27.75	3.61
Belén	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	60.94	36.45	2.61
Flores	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	61.77	27.76	10.47
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	62.59	31.10	6.32

Province	PLN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
Liberia	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	58.02	30.85	11.13
Nicoya	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	48.09	38.41	13.51
Santa Cruz	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	49.57	43.32	7.12
Bagaces	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	61.39	30.89	7.72
Carrillo	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	54.20	33.22	12.59
Cañas	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	49.16	46.90	3.94
Abangares	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	63.57	30.09	6.35
Tilarán	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	63.15	17.91	18.94
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	53.25	35.97	10.79

Province	PLN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
Puntarenas	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	62.64	34.22	3.15
Esparza	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	58.99	37.92	3.10
Buenos Aires	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	83.85	14.36	1.79
Montes de Oro	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	57.96	19.46	22.59
Osa	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	53.02	41.70	5.28
Aguirre	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	53.22	44.74	2.04
Golfito	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	54.92	35.31	9.77
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	59.14	35.97	4.90

Province	PLN	PD	PUN	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}"
Limón	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	57.57	35.05	7.38
Pococí	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	53.61	17.35	29.04
Siquirres	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	45.54	34.84	19.62
Total	National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)}}; color:white;"	55.00	30.72	14.28

Local government

syndics

References

[[Dieter Nohlen]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p155 {{ISBN. 978-0-19-928357-6
Nohlen, p156
"Reseña de las elecciones presidenciales de 1953".
(2007). "Fin de la Segunda República: Figueres y la Constituyente del 49". EUNED.
"Ulate y Figueres". Grupo Nación.
"Pacto Ulate-Figueres".
(November 27, 2009). "ARNOLDO FERRETO SEGURA Y EL PARTIDO COMUNISTA DE COSTA RICA EN LA LUCHA POR LA SEGUNDA Y AUTÉNTICA INDEPENDENCIA NACIONAL". Revista Estudios.
(August 2011). "Una lectura crítica a don José Figueres Ferrer. En torno a la Guerra Civil de 1948 y su papel en la Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República". Diálogos Revista Electrónica.
(2004). "Costa Rica y sus hechos políticos de 1948 Problemática de una década". EUNED.
"Murió Edgar Cardona Quirós". Grupo Nación.
"Elecciones Regidurías 1953". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones.

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