DECLASSICOEU Authority Stateletter Inhz S; ML, MERT O:ta 2458 new party, Vanguardia Popular, which is still largely held to be little different from its predecessor, the Communist Party, have convinced me that President Calderón Guardia was the second factor in the decision of Monsignor Sanabria to give his sanction to Catholic workers who wished to join the new party.
It is also known that the Archbishop is very alive to political conditions in Costa Rica. Not only does his above quoted letter to Vicente Saenz reflect this, but it will be recalled that he refused, last March, to accept a travel grant offered him by the Department of State because of his anxiety over the disturbed situation then existing in the country (see Airgram no. 520, March 24, 10 a. 1943. S18 404 46 The proposal to add social guarantees to the Comstitution was considered a political question, since the direct improvement of the social conditions in Costa Rica was very definitely secondary to the changes of political theory involved. As a consequence the Archbishop was criticized in many quarters for what was considered an unwarranted intervention in the political scene. The question of the labor code is likewise exceedingly controversial, and many persons of liberal views here have contended that if the statutes already part of Costa Rican law were enforced labor would have all the benefits the code envisages without the implied condemnation of capital as capital (see despatch no. 1697 of April 21, 1943. Furthermore, there are few Costa Ricans who believe that the new party, Vanguardia Popular, is different in any important respect from the old Communist Party. Conse quently they are a little uncomfortable about the attitude of their Archbishop. despatch comparing the former Communist Party with the Vanguardia Popular Party of Costa Rica, with copies of the statutes and programs of each, is being prepared and will shortly be sent to the Department.
Respectfully yours, Fay Allen Der Vortes Fay (Allen Des Portes.
Enclosure. Copy and translation of section of Pastoral Letter of April 28, 1940.
800.
SRT mm