CECLASSEU Authority, Stateletter Inhz 2: ML5 C: 24 18 In two major respects it is believed that Picado is not in accord with President Calderón Guardia. 1)
he feels the President has gone too far along the line of working with the former Communist Party here, even though don Teodoro himself did not scruple to sign a pact with Mora assuring him of the latter support in the present election; in the second respect don Teodoro, by implication and his brother René directly, manifested their disapproval with the lack of administrative efficiency and honesty which have characterized the Calderón Guardia Administration. They have made it entirely clear that they propose to use the broom freely in order to make a fresh start.
Relations with Vanguardia Popular Party and Manuel Mora.
In his address of February 12 don Teodoro declared. am not and will never be, nor have ever been a communist and my Government could never be a communist government. The obligations which we have toward the Vanguardia Party are those known by the country and no others. Behind the pact are hidden no secret clauses, verbal agreements or tacit understandings. In this same address Señor Picado analyzed the seven articles making up the pact between his party and the Vanguardia (Please seo Embassy despatch no. 653. October 5, 1943. calling attention especially to those articles which made it clear that the Vanguardia demanded no political or economic reward from the new Government. The Second Article refers to the joimt intention of the two parties to work to bring down the cost of living and put an end to speculation. The Third, Fourth and Fifth Articles refer, respectively, to cleaning up the political organization of the country, putting an end to all totalitarian influenee and collaborating with the United Nations, perfecting and executing the social guarantees and the Labor Code, raising the standard of living, et cetera. The Sixth Article ratifies the respect of the Vanguardia Party for the Catholic religion, the institution of the family and private property. Señor Picado makes a special point of the fact that the Archbishop of Costa Rica gave permission to the Catholics to join the Vanguardia Party. The final Article stipulates that both parties will maintain their own independence and freedom of viewpoint.
El 1927 In the Embassy despatch no. 1030 pr January 25 Mr. True blood reported Señor Picado comment that whereas Manuel Mora had started out as a doctrinaire communist, his thinking had subsequently undergone considerable evolution toward the right. In my conversation on February 12 with Señor Rená Picado he was quite outspoken concerning their relations with Mora and the Vanguardia Party. Don René declared that there were few Costa Ricans who had as much first hand knowledge of communism as he and his brother, due to their Polish background. Several of their relatives had been killed by the Bolsheviks, he said. Since Mora had started out as a communist, don René thought that he must be watched in the future. He and his brother did not