Manuel Mora Valverde OFP
1st Secretary-General of the People's Vanguard Party
In office 1943–1984
Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
In office 1 May 1970 – 30 April 1974
Preceded by	Luis Alberto Azofeifa Solfa
Succeeded by	Eduardo Mora Valverde
Constituency	San José (18th office)
Deputy of the Constitutional Congress
In office 1 May 1934 – 30 April 1948
Constituency	San José Province
Personal details
Born	Manuel Luis Mora Valverde (1909-08-27)27 August 1909 San José, Costa Rica
Died	29 December 1994(1994-12-29) (aged 85) San José, Costa Rica
Party	Socialist Action Party (1968–1994)
Other political affiliations	People's Vanguard Party (1931–1984) Costa Rican People's Party
Relations	Patricia Mora Castellanos (niece)
Children	1

Manuel Luis Mora Valverde (27 August 1909 – 29 December 1994) was a Costa Rican lawyer, politician and labor leader who played a central role in the development of the country's labor movement and social reform agenda during the mid-20th century. He was a founding figure of organized communism in Costa Rica and remained an influential actor in national politics for several decades.

Born in San José, Mora helped found the Workers and Farmers Party in 1931, which was later renamed the People's Vanguard Party (Partido Vanguardia Popular). As a political leader and legislator, he was closely associated with the Social Guarantees enacted during the 1940s, including labor protections and the expansion of social welfare legislation. He was elected as a deputy to the Constitutional Congress for San José in 1934, and re-elected in 1938, 1942 and 1946. He was also a presidential candidate for the 1940 and 1974 elections.

Mora is widely credited with providing the principal theoretical foundations for what became known as Comunismo a la tica ("Costa Rican-style communism"), an anti-dogmatic current within the country's leftist movement which emphasized adapting Marxist principles to Costa Rica's specific social, political, and cultural context rather than adhering strictly to orthodox or externally directed models. It was characterized by participation in electoral politics, engagement with democratic institutions, and the pursuit of social reforms through legal and parliamentary means.^[1]

In recognition of his contributions to the labor movement and to the establishment of Costa Rica's welfare state, Mora was awarded the honorary title of Benemérito de la Patria by the Legislative Assembly in 1998.

• Social Guarantees

• (in Spanish) A short biography