DECLASSMU Authority Stateletter Inhaz NARS Cate 241812 MONAS EMBASSY OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA San José, Costa Rica, November 27, 1944, UNITE No. 2144 Subject: Political: Political Tension Rises with Labor Code under Attack. Founding of New Newspaper Announced.
DE PATENT OF STATE SECRETS ON OF ATIONS. LRD JAN 15 154.
tribution CONFIDENTIAL. Mr. McDermo yes McDermott The Honorable The Secretary of State Washington.
Sir: BDO 01 With reference to the Embassy despatch N0. 2112 of November 20, 1944, have the honor to report that the high cost of living and the scarcity of basic foodstuffs have continued to share the political spotlight, and that considerable propaganda has emanated from the Right in an attempt to have the Labor Code either suspended or modified in its application to agriculture.
It would appear, moreover, that this issue will remain of paramount importance for some time, for the cost of living inder of the Banco Nacional shows a continued tendency to rise. The Conservativo elements, moreover, evidently feel that the time is ripe both to amond drastically the Labor Code and to drive a wedge between President Picado and the Vanguardia Popular party, while the latter organization sees clearly that a fight is necessary to preserve the social gains which have been secured in the past few years. An added item of political cent announcement of the formation of a new daily newspaper, backed by the Minister of Public Security and Agriculturo.
818. 00 11 744 To what degree they are responsible for the situation it is impossible to say, but the fact is that with the return to Costa Rica of General René Picado and Señor José Joaquín Peralta, political activity has increased greatly. It is generally recognized that Picado and Peralta are the leaders of the anti communist faction in the Government, and it is perhaps not entirely coincidental that their return has coincided with a wave of agitation to modify the Código do Trabajo (Labor code. es 818, 00 11 27424 As reported in the Embassy despatch under reference, the high cost of living and the scarcity of agricultural production has become a live political Dissue PR 1945 FILED