Costa Rica's Army Abolition Day: history and key facts

Costa Rica has lived without an army since the middle of the 20th century. Every 1 December it remembers the symbolic act of 1948 at the Cuartel Bellavista, and the 1949 Constitution put it in writing in its article 12: “The Army is proscribed as a permanent institution.” Here is the story, step by step and with its sources.

The story, step by step

1. 1
   1932, the Bellavistazo. The presidential election of February 1932 ends in an armed uprising known as the Bellavistazo: 15 dead and 36 wounded.
2. 2
   1948, the civil war. After that year's election is annulled, a conflict breaks out that lasts five weeks and leaves more than 500 dead.
3. 3
   1 December 1948, the gesture. At the Cuartel Bellavista, José Figueres Ferrer strikes one of the battlements of the wall and hands the building over to become the permanent home of the National Museum.
4. 4
   2 April 1949, the Cardonazo. Edgar Cardona leads an attempted coup.
5. 5
   7 November 1949, the Constitution. Article 12 proscribes the Army as a permanent institution and leaves surveillance and public order to the police forces.
6. 6
   2019-2020, the holiday. The Legislative Assembly passes Law 9803 on 5 December 2019; it is published on 2 July 2020 and declares 1 December Army Abolition Day.

Timeline

Is 1 December a public holiday?

Yes, but with optional pay. Law 9803 amended article 148 of the Labour Code: 1 December and 2 August became public holidays whose pay is not mandatory, and since Law 10050 of 2021 so is 31 August. Law 9803 also ended 12 October as a day off; schools still mark it.

In practice, according to the Ministry of Labour, people paid weekly get no pay for the day if they do not work it, and an extra single day's pay if they do. People paid monthly or fortnightly already have the day in their salary; if they work it, they get an extra single day's pay that makes it double. In 2026, 1 December falls on a Tuesday and is taken that same day.

Curious facts

• Article 12 does not ban every armed force: it allows military forces to be organised “by continental agreement or for national defence”, always under civilian authority.
• The National Museum itself calls 1 December 1948 “above all a symbolic date”.
• Figueres's blow landed on one of the battlements of the wall in the south-west of the old barracks' garden, now part of the National Museum.
• Before reaching Bellavista, the National Museum moved through four homes.
• The ₡500 “Army abolition” coin, minted in 2020, shows a figure breaking a wall, a nod to Figueres's gesture.
• The law that created this holiday is the same one that ended 12 October as a day off.

Frequently asked questions

Does Costa Rica have an army?

No. The Constitution has proscribed it as a permanent institution since 1949. Surveillance and public order are the job of the police forces, which the same article 12 provides for.

Since when has 1 December been a holiday?

Since 2020, under Law 9803. That first year it was taken on Monday 30 November.

Where did the 1948 act take place?

At the Cuartel Bellavista in San José, which has been the home of the National Museum of Costa Rica ever since.

Sources

• National Museum of Costa Rica: “Fuerzas armadas en Costa Rica”, “Los secretos del jardín: abolición” and “Cumplimos 133 años”.
• Political Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica, 7 November 1949, articles 12 and 197 (Supreme Electoral Tribunal).
• Law 9803, “Celebración nacional del 1° de diciembre como Día de la Abolición del Ejército”, La Gaceta no. 159, 2 July 2020.
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security: 2026 holiday calendar (4 December 2025) and press release 49-2020.
• Central Bank of Costa Rica: the 500-colón “Army abolition” coin.