Pretending to Be Peaceful: Costa Rica’s Public Forces, 1940s–80s

Costa Rica has built an enviable reputation as a peaceful country, exemplified by the elimination of its Army in 1948.  Despite the disbanding of the standing Army, Costa Rica has been policed by the Fuerzas Públicas, a largely unprofessional force that can be, and has been, converted into a military-type force when the government found it necessary.  However, the Public Forces have been used more frequently as an arm against dissent, as the government has targeted peaceful demonstrations and strikes.  At the same time that armed forces were dispatched to limit peaceful protest, newspapers echoed the government line that such protest was uncharacteristic for “peaceful” Costa Rica.  Peacefulness was thus equated with passivity in an attempt to limit protest aimed at social change.