The Political Constitution of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

of 1917 was a constitution that was in force for two years; from 1917 to 1919. It was promulgated by then dictator Federico Tinoco Granados after the coup d'état that overthrew

Alfredo González Flores Alfredo González Flores served as President of Costa Rica from 1914 to 1917. He was unable to complete his presidential mandate following a coup d'état on 27 January 1917, led by Federico Tinoco, his secretary for War and the Navy. González ...

in 1917. It was drafted by the ex-presidents

Bernardo Soto Alfaro Ramón Bernardo Soto Alfaro (12 February 1854 – 28 January 1931) was President of Costa Rica from 1885 to 1889. He took office when his father-in-law, President Próspero Fernández, died in office in 1885, and in a gesture of national conc ...

Rafael Iglesias Castro Rafael Anselmo José Yglesias Castro (18 April 1861 – 10 April 1924) was a Costa Rican politician who served as President of Costa Rica for two consecutive periods from 1894 to 1902. Biography He was born to Demetrio Yglesias Llorente a ...

, Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra,

Cleto González Víquez Cleto de Jesús González Víquez (13 October 1858 – 23 September 1937) was, on two occasions, the President of Costa Rica, firstly as the 18th president in 1906 and lastly as the 26th president in 1928. ''Don Cleto'' was born in Barva, Her ...

and

Carlos Durán Cartín Carlos Durán Cartín (1852-1924), a doctor of medicine who had trained in London, was acting President of Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is ...

. The presidents

José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón (6 January 1837 – 30 November 1917) was List of Presidents of Costa Rica, President of Costa Rica from 1890 to 1894. Rodríguez was born on 6 January 1837. He studied law at the University of San Carlos of Gu ...

and

Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno Romualdo Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (February 6, 1859 – January 4, 1945) served as president of Costa Rica on three occasions: 1910–1914, 1924–1928 and 1932–1936. He was one of the best known lawyers in Costa Rican history and a Universi ...

were invited to participate in the process as others of their status, but they refused to do so with various excuses. This constitution has been considered by some scholars as very progressive, partly because of the status of its authors, besides contemplating an itinerary to return to democracy with elections starting in 1922. However, it had an ephemeral existence since Tinoco was overthrown by opposition forces shortly after the murder of his brother. The discredit that ended his regime also affected the reputation of the constitution, which was discarded by the one that had previously lived since 1871.

History

The elections for constituent deputies of 1917 of Costa Rica were held on April 1 of that year at the same time as the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

convened by the de facto president Federico Alberto Tinoco Granados. These elections were held in order to legitimize the regime that was imposed after the coup d'état on January 27 of that same year. As was common in Costa Rica, a Constituent Assembly was convened by the coup leaders after the overthrow of a government, as happened with most constitutions, including the one still in force in 1949. The convocation was made according to the current electoral law and established that the number of deputies would be equal to that of the Parliament (42) and their election by province would also be the same. Tinoco was a unique candidate without rivals, postulated by the

Peliquista Party The Peliquista Party was a Costa Rican political group, active between 1917 and 1919 during the Tinoco Brothers dictatorship following the 1917 Costa Rican coup d'état. History 1917 elections The Peliquista Party emerged to participate in th ...

that gravitated around him. Naturally this party also swept the elections, obtaining 40 of the 42 deputies, the other two being Otilio Ulate Blanco and Otto Cortés Fernández (son of future president León Cortés Castro), elected by the Tinoquista Party.

Content

The Constitution of 1917 established a bicameral parliament with a Congress of Deputies in which each province elected deputies proportionally to its population and a Senate with three senators by province. It also established a series of civil rights and the State duty of protecting the working class.

References

{{Constitutions of Costa Rica Constitutions of Costa Rica