Costa Rican Constitution of 1917

It was drafted by the ex-presidents Bernardo Soto Alfaro, Rafael Iglesias Castro, Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra, Cleto González Víquez and Carlos Durán Cartín.

The presidents José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón and Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno were invited to participate in the process as others of their status, but they refused to do so with various excuses.

[2] This constitution has been considered by some scholars as very progressive, partly because of the status of its authors, besides contemplating an itinerary to return to democracy with elections starting in 1922.

As was common in Costa Rica, a Constituent Assembly was convened by the coup leaders after the overthrow of a government, as happened with most constitutions, including the one still in force in 1949.

The convocation was made according to the current electoral law and established that the number of deputies would be equal to that of the Parliament (42) and their election by province would also be the same.