REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. DECLASSIFIED Authority Statele fer lahz By ME NARA Date 2 981 DEPARTMENT OF STATE DIVISION OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS OIBICNO ERICA 20 1943 4E WE CAN Aerialios ICE STATE September 29, 1943 20, 1943. apo Mr. Cobbott Mr. Bons. of September 15.
Political Demonstration of September 15 in Costa Rica Herewith a de patch from San José describing the events of September 15 in connection with the celebration of Independence Day and the promulgation ob ED POLITICAL RELAT of the labor code. crowd estimated Mors DUGGAN at from 25, 000 to 100, 000 persons (best guess, 30, 000. Caldaron Guararais OCT 1943 estimate for the press, 100, 000) was brought in by the Government from many DEPARTMENT OF STADT parts of the country and behaved in an orderly manner. of September 16, Although there were cries from the that the mass demoncrowd for the re election of President calderon Guardia during the speech of national holiday, Manuel Mora, the President made the forthTrdia and his social right statement that he would leave office ly fashion.
at the end of his four year term. Both he and Manuel Móra emphasized that they fry began arriving in would not tolerate any administration which 15th and by 10 o clock or more streets where did not carry out in words and in deeds the new social legislation. Other speakers on he Parque España where ading the parade in a the program included the new Minister of Labor, Manuel Brenes Gutierrez, Father op Sanabria, Teodoro Nuñez, organizer of the Unions of the Catholic Church, and Rodolfo Guzman, Chief rganized by the special of the Union of Syndicates, and Teodoro he Vanguardia Popular ssible disturbances the Picado not pass within two blocks or une DIANLU DNT uw. see my despatch no.
560. of September 11. The crowd was variously estimated at from 25, 000 to as high as 100, 000 persons. From a reliable and confidential source the Embassy was informed that President Calderon Guardia himself changed the United Press correspondent telegram stating that there were 75, 000 persons present to read 100, 000 persons. An American citizen who has lived for many years in Costa Rica informed the Embassy that he had never seen so many people in San José and that the procession took two and a half hours to pass by his store. The majority of the observers seemed to agree that there were at the very least 30, 000 present in the parade in the city on September15. It was not possible to contain all prethe crowd in the park and it is estimated that only a maximum of 7, 000 were therefore able to listen to the speeches.
818. 00 1829 SM The head of the Union of Syndicates, Rodolfo Guzmán; the chief organizer of the Unions of the Catholic Church, Father Nuñez; the new Minister of Labor, Manuel BRENES Gutierrez