Juan Rafael Mora Porras, affectionately remembered by generations of Costa Ricans as "Don Juanito," stands as one of the most transformative and polarizing figures in nineteenth-century Central American history. Serving as the second President of the Republic of Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859, his tenure was defined by aggressive economic modernization, structural infrastructure overhauls, and, most famously, his absolute military defiance against foreign expansionism during the Filibuster War. next...