1936 Costa Rican general election

none Costa Rica state 9 February 1936 yes Presidential election presidential 1932 Costa Rican general election 1932 1940 Costa Rican general election 1940 130x130px 129,701 68.84% ( 4.62pp) León Cortés Castro 2.jpg León Cortés Castro National Republican Party (Costa Rica) 52,924 60.24% Octavio Beeche Arguello LOC.jpg Octavio Béeche Argüello National Party (Costa Rica) #0001FF 30,331 34.53% Carlos Luis Sáenz Joven.png Carlos Luis Sáenz es BOC 4,594 5.23% 1936 Costa Rican presidential election by province.svg 280px Official results by province President Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno National Republican Party (Costa Rica) León Cortés Castro National Republican Party (Costa Rica) yes Legislative election 1934 1938 22 of the 43 seats in the Constitutional Congress 68.86% ( 27.25pp) National Republican Party (Costa Rica) León Cortés Castro 59.40 17 14 National Party (Costa Rica) Octavio Béeche Argüello #0001FF 34.50 5 New Elecciones legislativas de Costa Rica de 1936 - Diputados por Provincia.svg Results by province General elections were held in Costa Rica on 9 February 1936.Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p155 978-0-19-928357-6 León Cortés Castro of the National Republican Party won the presidential election, whilst the party also won the parliamentary election, in which they received 59% of the vote and gained a two-thirds supermajority in the Constitutional Congress.Nohlen, p167 Voter turnout was 69%.Nohlen, p156 Campaign The Communist Party of Costa Rica succeeded in registering as a legal political party for the first time since its founding in 1931.Oconitrillo García Eduardo Cien años de política costarricense: 1902-2002, de Ascensión Esquivel a Abel Pacheco. 2004 EUNED 9789968313605 https://books.google.com/books?id=JvNL2PT5qyoC It participated in the election under the name Workers’ and Peasants’ Bloc (Bloque de Obreros y Campesinos) and nominated educator and writer Carlos Luis Sáenz es as its presidential candidate. Sáenz subsequently lost his teaching position at the Normal School due to his political affiliations. As in previous elections, a movement emerged advocating the re-election of incumbent president Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno. However, he firmly rejected the proposal, arguing that re-election would be contrary to democratic principles. León Cortés Castro had resigned from his post as Secretary of Public Works and Agriculture on 22 April 1935 in order to pursue presidential ambitions.23 April 1935 Acuerdo N° 16 https://museodegacetas.imprentanacional.go.cr/pub/1935/04/23/COMP_23_04_1935.pdf Diario Oficial La Gaceta 90 His political movement, known as cortesismo, gradually consolidated control over both Congress and the ruling National Republican Party. Cortés nevertheless faced significant opposition, particularly due to criticism of his alleged sympathies toward Nazism. Opposition groups sought a unified candidate capable of challenging him. Former president and outgoing deputy Julio Acosta García was briefly considered a pre-candidate but withdrew due to insufficient support, while Alberto Echandi Montero, candidate in 1923, declined to run against Cortés, citing personal obligations toward him. Efforts to persuade former president Alfredo González Flores and deputy Ricardo Moreno Cañas to enter the race were also unsuccessful. In that context, opposition deputy Carlos María Jiménez Ortiz es, who had been a presidential candidate in 1928 and 1932, declared that voters faced a choice between "Cortesismo or communism, the extreme right and the extreme left, fascism and Sovietism." Ultimately, diplomat and former president of the Supreme Court Octavio Béeche Argüello accepted the nomination of the newly founded National Party, uniting much of the opposition that had been defeated in the 1932 election. The campaign was marked by intense personal and ideological attacks. Béeche was accused by opponents of being both a foreigner and a communist sympathizer, while Cortés was labeled by critics as authoritarian, fascist, and tyrannical.Rodríguez Vega Eugenio Costa Rica en el siglo veinte 2004 EUNED 9789968313834 https://books.google.com/books?id=dMmYAf0fB7gC The election also marked the first participation of the Communist Party under the Workers’ and Peasants’ Bloc designation. Its original nominee, deputy Manuel Mora Valverde, was replaced by Sáenz because Mora had not yet reached the minimum age of 30 required for presidential candidates under the 1871 constitution. During the campaign, Cortés adopted a strongly anti-communist discourse, presenting himself as the "champion" that would protect the country against communist ideology. In the concurrent legislative elections, voting patterns closely mirrored the presidential contest. The National Republican Party obtained approximately 59% of the vote and 17 seats, the National Party led by Béeche received about 34% and 5 seats, and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Bloc secured slightly more support in the parliamentary vote than in the presidential race, with roughly 6% but no seats. Among those elected as deputies were Jorge Hine Saborío, Teodoro Picado Michalski, Alberto Oreamuno Flores (PRN), and Ricardo Moreno Cañas (National).10 February 1936 Probables diputados electos por toda la República Diario de Costa Rica 3–5 Results President León Cortés Castro National Republican Party 52924 Octavio Béeche Argüello National Party 30331 #0001FF Carlos Luis Sáenz es Bloc of Workers and Farmers 4594 1441 129701 Nohlen Constitutional Congress File:Costa Rican Constitutional Congress 1936.svg Won Total National Republican Party 53047 17 32 National Party 30815 5 9 #0001FF Bloc of Workers and Farmers 5448 0 2 0 129701 Nohlen (votes) References Costa General Category:Parliamentary elections in Costa Rica Category:Presidential elections in Costa Rica