Background
Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich was born on 10 March 1907 in San Ramon.
Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich was born on 10 March 1907 in San Ramon.
Orlich, a wealthy coffee- grower, helped finance Figueres’ agricultural venture during the 1930s.
Orlich and Figueres organized a liberal faction called Acción Demócrata, which merged with the Center for the Study of National Problems to form the Social Democratic Party in 1945. Orlich commanded the “Northern Front” during the 1948 civil war and was a leading member of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic (1948-1949), as minister of public works. The National Liberation Party (PLN) was founded at Orlich's finca in 1951; two years later he won a seat in the Legislative Assembly and was party leader in Congress. He was Figueres’ choice for the PLN nomination in 1958 but lost the election, principally because the PLN was split. Four years later he got a second chance and won.
He died of cancer three years later.
As president, Orlich was more conservative than many members of his party. He was reluctant to take new initiatives. He faced strong opposition within the PLN from those who felt he had caused it to lose its revolutionary character and from those who charged that he bungled disaster relief during the two-year eruption of the Irazú volcano. However, Orlich's presidency was not as conservative as critics charged; he gave attention to housing for the poor and to the problem of agrarian reform. Nevertheless, when the PLN lost the election of 1966, Orlich received the blame.