Costa Rica

Costa Rica was the only country in Latin America that never had a long lasting authoritarian government in the 20th century. Its only dictatorship during the period was after the 1917 Costa Rican coup d'état led by Minister of War Federico Tinoco Granados against President Alfredo González Flores after González attempted to increase tax on the wealthy, and it lasted only two years. In fact, the US government led by Democratic President Woodrow Wilson did not recognize Tinoco's rule and, despite the fact that the United Fruit Company was one of the affected companies by González' tax reform, helped the opposition that quickly overthrew Tinoco after a few months of warfare.

Years later Christian socialist medic Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia of the National Republican Party would reach power through democratic means, promoting a general social reform and allied to the Costa Rican Communist Party. Tensions between government and the opposition, supported by the CIA, caused the short-lived Costa Rican Civil War of 1948 that ended Calderón's government and led to the short de facto rule of 18 months by José Figueres Ferrer. However, Figueres also held some left-leaning ideas and continued the process of social reform. After the war, democracy was quickly restored and a two-party system encompassed by the parties of the Calderonistas and Figueristas developed in the country for nearly 60 years.