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General elections were held in Costa Rica in 1894. [1] Voters elected members of the electoral college on 4, 5 and 6 February, [2] who in turn elected the president on 1 April. [1]
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The elections were quite controversial due to the questionable practices from the government of José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón who supported his son-in-law Rafael Yglesias using all sorts of measures to assure his victory, going as far as to even arrest his main rival. [3]
In the previous elections Rodríguez won thanks to the endorsement of the Catholic Church and the up to that point marginalized conservatives over liberal and freemason Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra. [4] However, the intent of the liberal government of Bernardo Soto Alfaro of almost reject the results and appoint Esquivel anyway almost caused a Catholic uprising. Ironically, this date is commemorated in Costa Rica as "Democracy's Day". [5]
After the victory, Rodríguez' party, the Constitutional Party broke away forming two new parties; the ultra-Catholic, conservative and anti-Masonic Catholic Union led by Costa Rican bishop of German origin Bernard Thiel, and the loosely liberal Civil Party led by Rodriguez' son-in-law Yglesias. [3] Rodriguez used all sorts of pressures and trick against Trejos, pressuring the Electoral College (as at the time Costa Rican elections were indirect) and forcing the results in favor of his relative. Soon after Yglesia's victory the Constitution was amended forbidding the existence of religious-based parties, thus making Catholic Union illegal. [3]
