Every Dec. 1, Costa Rica celebrates Army Abolition Day.

The ceremonial event in San José begins at 10 a.m., with President Rodrigo Chaves and his team of ministers and congress members, among other government key executives, at the former Bellavista Military Barracks, now the National Museum.

Following the proper formalities of President Chaves' address, the Zarcero Municipal Band will take the stage. Later, at 6 p.m., the festivities will get off with a concert by the Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Malpaís Group and singer José Cañas. The event is pet-friendly and admission is free.

According to the Ministry of Labor, the observed holiday applies to all working people in the country. Today, the majority of public institutions, including schools, ministries and municipalities among many others are closed. 

The working day off is also applicable to foreign entities such as embassies or charities among others.

The day off also aims to motivate citizens to take a brief vacation from Friday to Sunday to boost tourism.

The holiday recognizes Dec. 1, 1948, when the then president, General José Figueres Ferrer, abolished the army.

 

Figueres served as President of Costa Rica on three occasions: from 1948 to 1949, then from 1953 to 1958 and the last period from 1970 to 1974.

The dissolution happened on the tail of a civil war that Figueres’s forces won. Until then, the Army had been a legal institution with economic resources and support from the national budget since the nation’s founding, according to the Ministry of Education.

Figueres, in a symbolic ceremony, after becoming president, demolished a wall of the Bellavista barracks, then the Army headquarters. Today the remains form part of the National Museum.

"On Dec. 1, 1948, I gave some blows on a wall of the Bellavista Barracks to symbolize the elimination of the remains of the military spirit of Costa Rica at another time," Figueres said in 1948.

In 1949, the elimination of the army was incorporated into the political constitution of the reformed Costa Rican Republic.

"This allowed us to use the budgets previously assigned to the army in the development of the public education system," the ministry said in its statement.

 

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