died June 8, 1990, San José moderate socialist Costa Rican
statesman who served as president of a governing junta in 194849
and as constitutional president in 195358 and 197074. Figueres
was educated in universities in Costa Rica and Mexico, and he
also studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After
returning to Costa Rica, he turned to agriculture, engaging in
coffee planting and the production of cabuya (an agave plant
from which rope and bags are made). His criticism of the
government of Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia in July 1942 forced
him into exile in Mexico for two years. When Calderón was
defeated by Otilio Ulate for reelection in 1948, the Legislative
Assembly annulled the election and tried to reinstall Calderón.
Figueres, who had hidden arms and ammunition on his plantation
near Cartago, led an uprising in support of Ulate. The two-month
civil war ended when Calderón's forces, despite being backed by
Nicaraguan strongman Anastasio Somoza, capitulated. A junta
dominated by Figueres wrot