The Plaza de la Democracia, officially Plaza de la Democracia y de la Abolición del Ejército (
English
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* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: "Plaza of Democracy and the Abolition of the Military") is a public plaza located in
San José, Costa Rica
San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San ...
, the national capital 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 ...
. The plaza is located directly in front of the national congress building, which houses the
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
The Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa) forms the unicameralism, unicameral legislature, legislative branch of the Costa Rican government. The national congress building is located in the capital city, San José, Costa Rica, San Jos ...
, and is flanked by the
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located in the capital of San José. It is located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras. It moved to its current location in 1950.Museo del Jade.
History
The plaza was inaugurated in 1989, to commemorate the centennial of former president
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 ...
's decision to withdraw from power rather than violently contesting his loss to
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 ...