The 1917 Costa Rican coup d'état of 27 January 1917 was a rupture of the constitutional order in the

Republic 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 ...

, where the constitutional

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Alfredo González Flores, was overthrown by his Minister of War and Navy Federico "Pelico" Tinoco and his brother and army commander José Joaquín Tinoco. The coup had the support of the Costa Rican oligarchy —mainly the bankers and coffee growers— affected by González's

tax reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxatio ...

, particularly a greater tax burden for the big capital. Gonzalez did not enjoy popular support as he had been appointed by Congress and not elected in open elections. Tinoco, in addition to the support of the most conservative oligarchy, had the support of the Catholic Church, of the Army (commanded by his brother), of important political and intellectual figures and of wide sectors of the population, although the repressive brutality of the regime was little by little undermining his popularity. The US government under

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

did not recognize Tinoco as part of its policy of rejecting coups in Central America in order to promote stability. The regime called a questionable presidential election with Tinoco as the only candidate and where the opposition could only limit itself to calling for abstention, as well as calling for elections for a

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that were almost entirely won by candidates of the Peliquista Party, the ruling party of Tinoco (nicknamed Pelico). However, the dictatorship of Tinoco would last only two years. His brother José Joaquín was assassinated on August 10, 1919 and rebel forces had already entered the country with varying degrees of success. Tinoco alongside his immediate family left the country two days after the death of his brother. The following elections of 1919 were won by the leader of the anti-Tinoco opposition

Julio Acosta García Julio Acosta García (23 May 1872 – 6 July 1954) served as 24th President of Costa Rica from 1920 to 1924. Early life Rafael Julio del Rosario Acosta García was born on 23 May 1872 in San Ramón, Alajuela, Costa Rica to Jesús de la Rosa Ga ...

on a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

. This will be the only dictatorship in Costa Rica's history during the 20th Century, although a short-lived de facto

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

ruled the country for 18 months after the Costa Rican Civil War of 1948.

References

{{Armed conflicts involving Costa Rica 1910s coups d'état and coup attempts History of Costa Rica