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Costa Rica's presidential election of 1948 was won by Otilio Ulate
(1895-1973), but the results were declared invalid and annulled by the congress
on March 1, 1948. Immediately civil war broke out between Ulate's followers, led
by Colonel Jose "Pepe" Figueres Ferrer (1906-1990), a Costa Rican
planter, and the supporters of the defeated presidential candidate, Rafael
Calderon Guardia (1900-1970). Figueres's force, called the "Caribbean
Legion," battled successfully against Calderon's forces, which included
government troops and communists and which received outside aid from President
Anastasio Somoza (1896-1956) of Nicaragua and President Tiburcio Carias Andino
(1876-1969) of Honduras. On April 28, 1948, after about six weeks of fighting,
Figueres entered the capital city of San Jose and ousted the government. On May
8, 1948, he established a ruling military junta, over which he presided for 18
months.
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