LIBERACION NACIONAL OF COSTA RICA: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLITICAL PARTY IN A TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY By BURT H. ENGLISH A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOR THE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA August, 1967 Copyright by BURT HAROLD ENGLISH 1967 PREFACE It is almost impossible to think of United States, British, or Soviet politics without thinking of Republicans, Democrats, Laborites, Conservatives, Communists, and so forth. The type of men that govern, the policies they implement, and the methods they employ are all directly related to the nature of partisan affiliations and loyalties. Recent studies have shown that other factor s being equal, parties are the greatest explainer of political behavior, whether that behavior be casting a ballot, voting in a legislative assembly, or appointing political elites to adminis- trativo positions. Yet, modern parties are relatively recent phenomena. Few realize that the organizations which seem so important today were unknown in all but a handful of nations just four or five gener- ations ago. Although groups of notables bearing different titles and descriptions fulfilled some of the functions now associated with the modern party, the large, extended, highly structured organizations encouraging mass support and participation are creatures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This study attempts to analyze the development of the first large permanent party in a small transitional society that is rapidiy iii undergoing a change in political life. A generation ago Costa Rica was properly considered a sleepy, rural "banana republic, " out of the mainstream of world events. Today it is becoming increasingly pluralistic, cosmopolitan, city-oriented, commercial--in a word, modern. The transition has necessitated greater sophistication in all fields of endeavor. One of the best examples of such sophistication is the emergence of complex political institutions, the National Lib- eration Party among them. It is hoped that information presented about one party in one nation may be expanded to increase overall understanding of political structures in the less modern parts of the world. The author maintains most of the normal biases of the social researcher in the West. He believes representative democracy is preferable to authoritarian rule, that ballots are preferable to bullets, and that violent social revolutions are seldom the best Solutions to problems and injustices. Furthermore, modern political parties are deemed absolutely necessary in the pluralistic society. Regarding the Costa Rican National Liberation Party, the author is neither liberacion- ista or anti-liberacionista. The PLN was chosen as an object of study not for favoritism or preference, but because it offers one of the best opportunitie s to study the phenomenon of party in Central America. If viewed as a continuous organization since the early 1940 ’s, it is un- doubtedly the oldest, best organized, most viable modern party on the xv isthmus. Only the Guatemalan Revolutionary Party and the Salvadorean Renovating Action Party offer serious competition to that claim. At the same time, one cannot undertake a two-year study without becoming a bit "fond" of the subject, Friendship ties that develop make it dif- ficult to remain totally objective. If the PLN is presented in too favorable a light at times, the reader is invited to interpólate as he desires. One specific note of caution must be made. Since the PLN is overwhelmingly committed to the welfare - átate and the author is not an advócate of the principie, the possibility of bias is greatest in Chapter VII and VIII. Consequently, those sections were written from the viewpoint of the PLN only, and the aspects of ideology pre- sented are those most often made by Liberation leader s. The author has attempted no evaluation, except in conjunction with LaPalombara and Weiner's criteria. Many persons have given their time and effort to make this study possible and their help is deeply appreciated. Sharon, the author' s wife, did much of the proofreading and all of the typing. Professor Harry Kantor of the University of Florida read early drafts and made numerous helpful suggestions throughout the text. The criticisms of Professor Charles Farris were valuable, especially those concerning use of quantitative data in Chapters IV, V, and VI. Professor Lyle McAlister, also of the University of Florida, offered v interpretive suggestions pertaining to the histórica! material in Chapters II and III as well as aiding the research financially in his capacity as Director of the Center for Latin American Studies of the University of Florida. Professor Hugh Popenoe provided the grant which made the study possible through the Caribbean Area Research Program of the University of Florida. An additional research grant from the Ford Foundation administered through the University of Kansas in the summer of 1967 made possible the final preparation of the text. Additional notes of appreciation must go to the many people of the Libraries and Computing Center s of the Universities of Florida and Kansas. National Liberation Party leaders and other Costa Ricans provided much of the subjective material that led to a better under- standing of their country's politics. Particularly helpful were Rodrigo Carazo, President of the 1966 Legislative Assembly; Carlos José Gutiérrez, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Costa Rica and PLN deputy; Manuel Carballo, 1966 subsecretary general of the Juventud Liberacionista; and Salvador Jiménez, Director of the Library of the Legislative Assembly. In addition, Manuel Antonio Quesada made available the large portion of the Archives of the Center for the Study of National Problems, Acción Demócrata, and the Social Democratic Party which he has guarded throughout the years. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE iii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF DIAGRAMS AND FIGURES xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION: THE TRADIT IONAL NATURE OF CONTEMPORARY COSTA RICAN SOCIETY 1 II. PARTY FOUNDATIONS: THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF NATIONAL PROBLEMS AND DEMOCRATIC ACTION 18 III. PARTY FOUNDATIONS: THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY 48 IV. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARTY: DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP RECRUITMENT .... 68 V. NATIONAL LIBERATION PARTY STRUCTURAL INTERACTION 93 VI. NATIONAL LIBERATION SUPPORT IN FOUR ELECTIONS 131 VII. LIBE RACIONISTA IDEOLOGY AND PROGRAM: HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS, 1940-1951 170 VIH. LIBERACIONISTA IDEOLOGY AND PROGRAM: THE SOLIDIFICATION OF PARTY DOCTRINE, 1951-1967 . 189 IX. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN POLITICAL PAR T IES IN TRANSIT IONAL SOCIETIES 212 APPENDIX 231 BIBLIOGRAPHY 253 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 4: 1 Period of Recruitment 76 4: 2 Relationship Between Period of Recruitment and 1966 Rank in Party 77 4: 3 Age Distribution 78 4: 4 Age of National Leaders 78 4: 5 Educational Attainment 79 4: 6 Occupation 80 4: 7 Relationship Between Period of Recruitment and Sociological Type 82 4: 8 Social Mobility 83 4: 9 Relationship Between Period of Recruitment and Inte re st in Politics Before Joining Party 84 4:10 Position on AE Scale 87 4:11 Ideological Responses 88 5: 1 Tenure of Local Leaders 113 5: 2 Local Leaders 1 Contact with Provincial and National Leaders 114 5: 3 Issues Discussed with Local and Liaison Leaders' Superiors 115 5: 4 Relationship Between Party Rank and Sociological Type 117 5: 5 Relationship Between Party Rank and Interest in Politics Before Joining Party 118 viii 5: 6 Relationship Between Party Rank and Authoritarianism 119 5: 7 Relationship Between Rank in the PLN and Ideological Outlook 120 5: 8 "Over what type of issues do party divisions become most heated?" 125 5: 9 "Which of the various party wings you have just described is more popular among your friends and neighbors here in ? " 127 6: 1 Suggestions for Future Victories 141 6: 2 PLN Percentage of Total Valid Vote, 1953-1966 . 142 6: 3 Relationship Between PLN Presidential and Legislative Support, 1953-1966 143 6: 4 1966 PLN Vote and Preceding Elections 143 6: 5 Voting Turnout, 1953-1966 145 6: 6 Effects of the Compulsory Voting Law on the Support Bases of the Three Major Parties in 1962: Percentages of Party Votes in 1962 Relating to the Inc rease in Electoral Turnout, 1958-1962 145 6: 7 Land Ownership 148 6: 8 Upper-White-Collar Workers 149 6: 9 Lower-White- Collar Workers 150 6:10 Agricultural Workers 150 6:11 Non- Puntarenas- Limón Cantons 152 6:12 Puntarenas -Limón Cantons 152 6:13 Blue-Collar Workers 153 6:14 Service Workers 154 IX 6:15 Illiteracy 155 6 : 1 6 Geographic Population Stability 156 6:17 Industrial Workers 157 6:18 Consumption of Electrical Energy 158 6:19 Urban Residents 159 6:20 PLN Support Compared: Presidential Election of 1962 . 160 6:21 PLN Support Compared: Congressional Election of 1962 160 6:22 Interparty Correlation, 1962 161 x LIST OF DIAGRAMS AND FIGURES Diagram Page 2:1 The Costa Rican Political Party System, 1936-1967. 21 Figure 5:1 View of the Party 121 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCT ION : THE TRANSITIONAL NATURE OF CONTEMPORARY COSTA RICAN SOCIETY The political party is one of the most essential secondary organizations in the modera world. Yet, the actual processes by which viable parties are founded or the societal conditions sur- rounding their foundation are not fully understood. Since World War II at least one political group in Costa Rica, the National Lib- eration Party, has become institutionalized to the point that it can continué whether in power or in the opposition and has become an established part of the national polity, This case study was under- taken to trace the way in which a political party developed in a transitional society and ultimately to isolate the most important factors contributing to the successful establishment of such organi- zations in similar societies.