On December 1, 1948, José Figueres Ferrer, President of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic, officially abolished the Costa Rican army by symbolically tearing down a wall of the Bellavista Barracks. This bold move, following a brief but violent civil war, redirected military funding toward education and healthcare. Costa Rica became one of the […] The post No Army in Costa Rica: How a 1948 Decision Changed Central America appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.