REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES DECLASSINED ochority Statelettern12 e me NARS Cate 24 98 STANDARD FORM NO. 64 Office Memorandum UNITED UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT DATE: December TO. FROM: 11 Irden ulliken milett SUBJECT: Costa ica. one insident Calceron Guardia Defines is Ireolo y with kespect to Communism La riouna, administration newspaper, has carried a headline statement by former President Calderon Guardia, defining his orst and present stand on communism.
Calderon admits having seid in 1939 when he was President elect that he was firmly decided to finish with communism in Costa Rica. Te qualifies that by stating that durins his presidential campaign he offered to fight against communism by eliminating its reason for existence, social injustice. He admits that his own ideology and that of Vanguardia Popular coincided on such questions as social guarantees, enactment of labor code, social insurance, land laws, etc. He stresses his religious convictions and points out that social lav. of his Administration were in accord with Papal encyclicals. He further states that lets favoring capital vere enacted during his term of office and expresses the belief that communism cannot be combatted by persecution, 818. 00 12 546 Comment: Reasons both political and personal have been advanced for this profession of faith: The statement may constitute the opening gun in a campaign leadins to a break with Vanguardia Popular Dr. Calderon realizes that communism is not fashionable today and realizes that both for internal and international political reasons he should divorce his name and party from Vanguardia, which in the popular and opposition mind is regarded as communistic. It constitutes an attempt to secure the support of the wealthier classes and the church for his forthcoming presidential campaign. His remarks as to his religious convictions are designed to lessen the shock of his divorce of his Belgian)
born wife and his pending marriage to a Costa Rican.
Dr. Calderon was unable to secure approval of the Catholic church to his divorce.
DARTSIENT OF STATE Desp. 2652 of Dec. from San José не 1 чай FW 818. 00 12546 CPA: TIBennett:mld 12 19 46