Faces of Costa Rica

Don Pepe: A National Hero

José Figueres Ferrer, know to Ticos as Don Pepe, was instrumental in not only forming the new Constitution, but also in mobilizing the Revolution of 1948. He founded the National Liberation Party (PLN) and served as president of Costa Rica between 1948 and 1949, 1953 and 58 and 1970 and 1974.

He first came into the public eye in 1942, when President Rafael Calderón enacted the Alien Property Act, allowing the government to seize property from resident German and Italian families. Costa Rica declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A little known landowner, Don Pepe bought space on a radio station and condemned Calderón for entering the war without the means to defend Costa Rica and claimed the Alien Act was illegal. He demanded Calderón's resignation on the air. He lived in exile in Mexico between 1942 and 1944.

In 1948, Don Pepe assembled National Liberation Army of the Second Republic when Calderón refused to give up power to Otilio Ulate, the newly elected president. Winning the revolution, Don Pepe then became a member of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic and was instrumental in writing the Constitution of 1949. After 18 months, he gave the presidency back to Ulate.

Don Pepe is a national hero in Costa Rica. He remained active in politics until his death in 1990 at the age of 84.