Editing Jacobo Árbenz (section)

== October revolution and defense ministership ==
[[File:Jorgeubico1930.jpg|thumb|upright|President Jorge Ubico in the 1930s. Like his predecessors, he gave a number of concessions to the [[United Fruit Company]] and supported their harsh labor practices. He was forced out of power by a popular uprising in 1944.]]

{{Further|Guatemalan Revolution}}

===Historical background===
In 1871 the government of [[Justo Rufino Barrios]] passed laws confiscating the lands of the native [[Mayan people]] and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for minimal compensation.{{sfn|Martínez Peláez|1990|p=842}} Several United States-based companies, including the [[United Fruit Company]], received this public land, and were exempted from paying taxes.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=8–10}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=10–11}} In 1929 the [[Great Depression]] led to the collapse of the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading to unrest among workers and laborers. Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite lent their support to [[Jorge Ubico]], who won the election that followed in 1931, an election in which he was the only candidate.{{sfn|Forster|2001|pp=12–15}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=10–11}} With the support of the United States, Ubico soon became one of Latin America's most brutal dictators.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|p=11}} Ubico abolished the system of [[Debt bondage|debt peonage]] introduced by Barrios and replaced it with a vagrancy law, which required all men of working age who did not own land to perform a minimum of 100 days of hard labor.{{sfn|Forster|2001|p=29}}{{sfn|Martínez Peláez|1990|p=842}} In addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to work on public infrastructure such as roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low levels, and passed a law allowing landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any action they took to defend their property,{{sfn|Forster|2001|p=29}} including allowing them to [[capital punishment|execute]] workers as a "disciplinary" measure.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=11–12}}{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=34–37}}{{sfn|Cullather|2006|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Rabe|1988|p=43}} The result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against him among agricultural laborers.{{sfn|Forster|2001|pp=29–32}} Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous people, once stating that they resembled donkeys.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=15}} He gave away {{convert|200,000|ha|acre}} of public land to the United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish bases in Guatemala.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=11–12}}{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=34–37}}{{sfn|Cullather|2006|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Rabe|1988|p=43}}{{sfn|McCreery|1994|pp=316–317}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=22}}

===October revolution===
[[File:Juntagobierno1944.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Árbenz, Toriello and Arana|Árbenz, [[Jorge Toriello]] (center), and [[Francisco Arana]] (right) in 1944. The three men formed the [[Military junta|junta]] that ruled Guatemala from the October Revolution until the election of Arévalo.]]
In May 1944 a series of protests against Ubico broke out at the [[Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala|university]] in [[Guatemala City]]. Ubico responded by suspending the constitution on 22 June 1944.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|Forster|2001|p=84}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=24–25}} The protests, which by this point included many middle-class members and junior army officers in addition to students and workers, gained momentum, eventually forcing Ubico's resignation at the end of June.{{sfn|Forster|2001|p=86}}{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=11–12}}{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=39–40}} Ubico appointed a three-person junta led by General [[Federico Ponce Vaides]] to succeed him. Although Ponce Vaides initially promised to hold free elections, when the congress met on 3 July soldiers held everyone at gunpoint and forced them to appoint Ponce Vaides interim president.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=39–40}} The repressive policies of the Ubico administration were continued.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=11–12}}{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=39–40}} Opposition groups began organizing again, this time joined by many prominent political and military leaders, who deemed the Ponce regime unconstitutional. Árbenz had been one of the few officers in the military to protest the actions of Ponce Vaides.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=140}} Ubico had fired Árbenz from his teaching post at the ''Escuela Politécnica'', and since then Árbenz had been living in El{{nbsp}}Salvador, organizing a band of revolutionary exiles.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=41–43}} Árbenz was one of the leaders of the plot within the army, along with Major [[Aldana Sandoval]]. Árbenz insisted that civilians also be included in the coup, over the protests of the other military men involved. Sandoval later said that all contact with the civilians during the coup was through Árbenz.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=140}}

On 19 October 1944, a small group of soldiers and students led by Árbenz and [[Francisco Javier Arana]] attacked the [[National Palace (Guatemala)|National Palace]] in what later became known as the "October Revolution".{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=41–43}} Arana had not initially been a party to the coup, but his position of authority within the army meant that he was key to its success.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=48–51}} They were joined the next day by other factions of the army and the civilian population. Initially, the battle went against the revolutionaries, but after an appeal for support their ranks were swelled by unionists and students, and they eventually subdued the police and army factions loyal to Ponce Vaides. On 20 October, the next day, Ponce Vaides surrendered unconditionally.{{sfn|Forster|2001|pp=89–91}} Árbenz and Arana both fought with distinction during the revolt,{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=48–51}} and despite the idealistic rhetoric of the revolution, both were also offered material rewards: Árbenz was promoted from captain to lieutenant colonel, and Arana from major to full colonel.{{sfn|Loveman|Davies|1997|pp=126–127}} The junta promised free and open elections to the presidency and the congress, as well as for a [[constituent assembly]].{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=28–29}} The resignation of Ponce Vaides and the creation of the junta has been considered by scholars to be the beginning of the Guatemalan Revolution.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=28–29}} However, the revolutionary junta did not immediately threaten the interests of the landed elite. Two days after Ponce Vaides' resignation, a violent protest erupted at [[Patzicía]], a small Indian hamlet. The junta responded with swift brutality, silencing the protest. The dead civilians included women and children.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=30–31}}

Elections subsequently took place in December 1944. Although only literate men were allowed to vote, the elections were broadly considered free and fair.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=45–45}}{{sfn|Streeter|2000|p=14}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=36}} Unlike in similar historical situations, none of the junta members stood for election.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=45–45}} The winner of the 1944 elections was a teacher named [[Juan José Arévalo]], who ran under a coalition of leftist parties known as the "[[Revolutionary Action Party|Partido Acción Revolucionaria]]'" ("Revolutionary Action Party", PAR), and won 85% of the vote.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|p=14}} Arana did not wish to turn over power to a civilian administration.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=48–51}} He initially tried to persuade Árbenz and Toriello to postpone the election, and after Arévalo was elected, he asked them to declare the results invalid.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=48–51}} Árbenz and Toriello insisted that Arévalo be allowed to take power, which Arana reluctantly agreed to, on the condition that Arana's position as the commander of the military be unchallenged. Arévalo had no choice but to agree to this, and so the new Guatemalan constitution, adopted in 1945, created a new position of "Commander of the Armed Forces", a position that was more powerful than that of the defense minister. He could only be removed by Congress, and even then only if he was found to have broken the law.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=48–54}} When Arévalo was inaugurated as president, Arana stepped into this new position, and Árbenz was sworn in as defense minister.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=48–51}}

===Government of Juan José Arévalo===
Arévalo described his ideology as "[[Juan José Arévalo#Spiritual socialism (Arevalismo)|spiritual socialism]]". He was anti-[[communist]] and believed in a capitalist society regulated to ensure that its benefits went to the entire population.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=46–49}} Arévalo's ideology was reflected in the new constitution that was ratified by the Guatemalan assembly soon after his inauguration, which was one of the most progressive in Latin America. It mandated [[suffrage]] for all but illiterate women, a decentralization of power, and provisions for a multiparty system. [[Communist parties]] were forbidden.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=46–49}} Once in office, Arévalo implemented these and other reforms, including minimum wage laws, increased educational funding, and labor reforms. The benefits of these reforms were largely restricted to the upper-middle classes and did little for the peasant agricultural laborers who made up the majority of the population.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Immerman|1982|p=48}} Although his reforms were based on liberalism and capitalism, he was viewed with suspicion by the United States government, which would later portray him as a communist.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Immerman|1982|p=48}}

When Árbenz was sworn in as defense minister under President Arévalo, he became the first to hold the portfolio, since it had previously been known as the ''Ministry of War''. In the fall of 1947, Árbenz, as defense minister, objected to the deportation of several workers after they had been accused of being communists. Well-known communist [[José Manuel Fortuny]] was intrigued by this action and decided to visit him, and found Árbenz to be different from the stereotypical Central American military officer. That first meeting was followed by others until Árbenz invited Fortuny to his house for discussions that usually extended for hours. Like Árbenz, Fortuny was inspired by a fierce nationalism and a burning desire to improve the conditions of the Guatemalan people, and, like Árbenz, he sought answers in Marxist theory. This relationship would strongly influence Árbenz in the future.{{sfn|Sabino|2007|pp=9–24}}

On 16 December 1945, Arévalo was incapacitated for a while after a car accident.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=51–57}} The leaders of the [[Revolutionary Action Party]] (PAR), which was the party that supported the government, were afraid that Arana would take the opportunity to launch a coup and so struck a deal with him, which later came to be known as the ''Pacto del Barranco'' (Pact of the Ravine).{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=51–57}} Under the terms of this pact, Arana agreed to refrain from seizing power with the military; in return, the PAR agreed to support Arana's candidacy in the next presidential election, scheduled for November 1950.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=51–57}} Arévalo himself recovered swiftly, but was forced to support the agreement.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=51–57}} However, by 1949 the [[National Renovation Party]] and the PAR were both openly hostile to Arana due to his lack of support for labor rights. The leftist parties decided to back Árbenz instead, as they believed that only a military officer could defeat Arana.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=58–60}} In 1947 Arana had demanded that certain labor leaders be expelled from the country; Árbenz vocally disagreed with Arana, and the former's intervention limited the number of deportees.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=58–60}}

The land reforms brought about by the Arévalo administration threatened the interests of the landed elite, who sought a candidate who would be more amenable to their terms. They began to prop up Arana as a figure of resistance to Arévalo's reforms.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–63}} The summer of 1949 saw intense political conflict in the councils of the Guatemalan military between supporters of Arana and those of Árbenz, over the choice of Arana's successor.{{efn|In order to run for election, the constitution required that Arana resign his military position by May 1950, and that his successor be chosen by Congress from a list submitted by the Consejo Superior de la Defensa, or CSD.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–69}} Elections for the CSD were scheduled for July 1949. The months before this election saw intense wrangling, as Arana supporters tried to gain control over the election process. Specifically, they wanted the election to be supervised by regional commanders loyal to Arana, rather than centrally dispatched observers.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–69}}}} On 16 July 1949, Arana delivered an ultimatum to Arévalo, demanding the expulsion of all of Árbenz's supporters from the cabinet and the military; he threatened a coup if his demands were not met. Arévalo informed Árbenz and other progressive leaders of the ultimatum; all agreed that Arana should be exiled.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–69}} Two days later, Arévalo and Arana had another meeting; on the way back, Arana's convoy was intercepted by a small force led by Árbenz. A shootout ensued, killing three men, including Arana. Historian [[Piero Gleijeses]] stated that Árbenz probably had orders to capture, rather than to kill, Arana.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–69}} Arana's supporters in the military rose up in revolt, but they were leaderless, and by the next day the rebels asked for negotiations. The coup attempt left approximately 150 dead and 200 wounded.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–69}} Árbenz and a few other ministers suggested that the entire truth be made public; however, they were overruled by the majority of the cabinet, and Arévalo made a speech suggesting that Arana had been killed for refusing to lead a coup against the government.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=59–69}} Árbenz kept his silence over the death of Arana until 1968, refusing to speak out without first obtaining Arévalo's consent. He tried to persuade Arévalo to tell the entire story when the two met in [[Montevideo]] in the 1950s, during their exile: however, Arévalo was unwilling, and Árbenz did not press his case.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=70}}

===1950 election===

Árbenz's role as defense minister had already made him a strong candidate for the presidency, and his firm support of the government during the 1949 uprising further increased his prestige.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} In 1950 the economically moderate [[National Integrity Party|Partido de Integridad Nacional]] (PIN) announced that Árbenz would be its presidential candidate in the upcoming election. The announcement was quickly followed by endorsements from most parties on the left, including the influential PAR, as well as from labor unions.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} Árbenz carefully chose the PIN as the party to nominate him. Based on the advice of his friends and colleagues, he believed it would make his candidacy appear more moderate.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} Árbenz himself resigned his position as Defense Minister on 20 February and declared his candidacy for the presidency. Arévalo wrote him an enthusiastic personal letter in response but publicly only reluctantly endorsed him, preferring, it is thought, his friend Víctor Manuel Giordani, who was then Health Minister. It was only the support Árbenz had, and the impossibility of Giordani being elected, that led to Arévalo deciding to support Árbenz.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=74}}

Prior to his death, Arana had planned to run in the 1950 presidential elections. His death left Árbenz without any serious opposition in the elections (leading some, including the CIA and US military intelligence, to speculate that Árbenz personally had him eliminated for this reason).{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=15–17}} Árbenz had only a couple of significant challengers in the election, in a field of ten candidates.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} One of these was [[Jorge García Granados]], supported by some members of the upper-middle class who felt the revolution had gone too far. Another was [[Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes]], who had been a general under Ubico and had the support of the hardline opponents of the revolution. During his campaign, Árbenz promised to continue and expand the reforms begun under Arévalo.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=60–61}} Árbenz was expected to win the election comfortably because he had the support of both major political parties of the country, as well as that of the labor unions, which campaigned heavily on his behalf.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=83}} In addition to political support, Árbenz had great personal appeal. He was described as having "an engaging personality and a vibrant voice".{{sfn|Immerman|1982|p=62}} Árbenz's wife María also campaigned with him; despite her wealthy upbringing she had made an effort to speak for the interests of the Mayan peasantry and had become a national figure in her own right. Árbenz's two daughters also occasionally made public appearances with him.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=62–62}}

The election was held on 15 November 1950, with Árbenz winning more than 60% of the vote, in elections that were largely free and fair with the exception of the disenfranchisement of illiterate female voters.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} Árbenz got more than three times as many votes as the runner-up, Ydígoras Fuentes, who claimed electoral fraud had benefited Árbenz. Scholars have pointed out that while fraud may possibly have given Árbenz some of his votes, it was not the reason that he won the election.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|p=16}} Árbenz's promise of land reform played a large role in ensuring his victory.{{sfn|Forster|2001|p=2}} The election of Árbenz alarmed US State Department officials, who stated that Arana "has always represented the only positive conservative element in the Arévalo administration" and that his death would "strengthen {{sic|Left|ist}} materially", and that "developments forecast sharp leftist trend within the government."{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=124}} Árbenz was inaugurated as president on 15 March 1951.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}}