1940 Costa Rican general election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox election

| country = Costa Rica

| flag_year = state

| election_date = 11 February 1940

| module = {{Infobox election

| embed = yes

| election_name = Presidential election

| type = presidential

| previous_election = 1936 Costa Rican general election

| previous_year = 1936

| next_election = 1944 Costa Rican general election

| next_year = 1944

| image_size = 130x130px

| turnout = 80.85% ({{Increase}} 12.01pp)

| image1 = Calderón Guardia 1940 cropped.jpg

| nominee1 = Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia

| party1 = National Republican Party (Costa Rica)

|alliance1 =

| popular_vote1 = 92,849

| percentage1 = 84.47%

| image2 = Calderón y Mora cropped.png

| nominee2 = Manuel Mora

| party2 = BOC

| popular_vote2 = 10,825

| percentage2 = 9.85%

| image3 = 3x4.svg

| nominee3 = Virgilio Salazar Leiva

| party3 = {{ill|Confraternidad Guanacasteca|lt=CG|es}}

| colour3 = FBEC5D

| popular_vote3 = 6,242

| percentage3 = 5.68%

| map_image = 1940 Costa Rican presidential election by province.svg

| map_size = 280px

| map_caption = Official results by province

| title = President

| before_election = León Cortés Castro

| before_party = National Republican Party (Costa Rica)

| after_election = Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia

| after_party = National Republican Party (Costa Rica)

}}}}{{Politics of Costa Rica}}

General elections were held in Costa Rica on 11 February 1940.Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p155 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}} Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia of the Independent National Republican Party won the presidential election. Voter turnout was 81% in the presidential election and 66% in the parliamentary election.Nohlen, p156

Since 1938, two tendencies had begun to emerge in the ranks of the Republican Party, one revolving around the popular ex president Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno and another around the young doctor and charismatic politician Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia.{{cite book|last1=Rodriguez Vega|first1=Eugenio|title=Costa Rica en el siglo veinte|year=2004|publisher=Costa Rica en el siglo veinte|location=Costa Rica|isbn=9789968313834|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMmYAf0fB7gC}} Jiménez, however, an old man, would gradually leave power and influence, and the "Jimenismo" lost ground to Calderonismo, which also has full support from the government chaired by León Cortés Castro who pressures Jiménez into retirement.

To prevent a triumph of the Calderonismo a coalition was tried between the Communist Party, a faction of the jimenismo and the Social Democratic Guanacastecan Brotherhood called National Democratic Alliance, nevertheless when Jiménez declines to be candidate this is broken so the parties that integrate it ran separately. During the National Republican Convention Calderón is selected presidential nominee and wins the elections.