Background
Juan Rafael Mora Porras was born on 8 Fabruaby 1814 in San Jose. He belonged to one of the oldest families of the ruling oligarchy
government official politician president
Juan Rafael Mora Porras was born on 8 Fabruaby 1814 in San Jose. He belonged to one of the oldest families of the ruling oligarchy
He was a prosperous coffee planter. His principal problem was rivalry for power with other oligarchical families. He used his office to favor economic activities of relatives and friends, enabling a small group to monopolize credit and trade and virtually dictating his reelection in 1853. This led to decline in his popularity and to doubts that he could complete his second term.
Mora rallied the Costa Ricans and much of Central America in a war of resistance against the filibusterer William Walker. The conflict transformed Mora’s troubled rule into popular acclaim, but when he tried to extend his rule for a third term in 1859, his enemies and the generals removed him. When, in I860, he attempted to return to power at the head of an invading column, government forces under President José Maria Montealegre captured and exe-cuted him.
