José María Alfaro Zamora (March 20, 1799 – June 12, 1856) was the

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n Head of State between the periods of 1842 and 1844 as well as 1846 and 1847 and President of Costa Rica between May 1 and May 8, 1847.

Early life and family

Alfaro was born in

Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela (canton), Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of ...

, Costa Rica, then part of the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, on March 20, 1799, to his parents Juan Antonio Alfaro y Arias and María Damiana Zamora y Flores. On May 19, 1825, he married María Josefa Sandoval y Jiménez. With her he fathered José Joaquín Alfaro Sandoval, a daughter who died early in her childhood, and Calixto Alfaro Sandoval. Alfaro was a farmer and a businessman. He owned lands devoted to coffee plantation and a sawmill in Itiquís near Alajuela. He also participated in a lumber company in

Jinotepe Jinotepe () is a city and municipality in the Carazo department of Nicaragua. The Indigenous inhabitants of Jinotepe are the Chorotegas and Nahuas. It borders with Managua, Masaya, Granada, and Rivas. Toponymy Jinotepe comes from the Nawat ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Public activities

He served as supply deputy for Alajuela (1825-1827), second mayor of Alajuela (1828), deputy for Alajuela (1829-1831), deputy for Heredia (1834-1836), political leader of the western department (1841) and magistrate of the Judicial Chamber (1841-1842). On September 27, 1842, in a junta convocated by then Head of State Antonio Pinto Soares, José María Alfaro Zamora was designated Provisional Head of State. During his administration he built the road that connects San José to

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which comprises the Puntarenas, Chacarita and El Roble districts. A ...

, founded Universidad de Santo Tomás, emitted the 1844 Constitution, and founded the newspaper "Mentor Costarricense". He lost the 1844 elections to Francisco María Oreamuno Bonilla. On November 29, 1844, he gave Oreamuno his office which was meant to last until 1848. On June 7, 1846, after a coup d'état Alfaro was again declared Provisional Head of State. During this administration Puntarenas was declared a free port, the 1847 Constitution was emitted and a failed diplomatic mission with Nicaragua was launched in a second attempt to sign a border agreement with this country (a previous attempt by Braulio Carrillo in 1838 had also failed). Although he lost the 1847 elections to

José María Castro Madriz José María Castro Madriz (1 September 1818 – 4 April 1892) was a Costa Rican lawyer, academic, diplomat, and politician. He served twice as President of Costa Rica, from 1848 to 1849, and from 1866 to 1868. On both occasions he was prevented ...

he won the office of Vice President for the next term. In order to comply with the new Constitution, from May 1 to May 8, 1847, he used the title ''President of the State''. On May 8, 1847, he was succeeded by Castro. In May 1847, he became Vice President of the State, but he had to quit months after. Accused of corruption, he was confined to Térraba and later moved to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Aftermath and death

He later returned to Costa Rica but refused to participate in politics. He died in Alajuela on June 11, 1856, due to

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfaro Zamora, Jose Maria 1799 births 1856 deaths People from Alajuela Costa Rican people of Spanish descent Presidents of Costa Rica Vice presidents of Costa Rica Leaders who took power by coup Deaths from cholera Mayors of places in Costa Rica Members of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica 19th-century Costa Rican judges Costa Rican liberals People from New Spain