Editing Jacobo Árbenz (section)

===Inauguration and ideology===
{{See also|José Manuel Fortuny}}
In his inaugural address, Árbenz promised to convert Guatemala from "a backward country with a predominantly [[feudal]] economy into a modern capitalist state".{{sfn|Streeter|2000|p=18}} He declared that he intended to reduce dependency on foreign markets and dampen the influence of foreign corporations over Guatemalan politics.{{sfn|Fried|1983|p=52}} He said that he would modernize Guatemala's [[infrastructure]] without the aid of foreign capital.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=149}} Based on advice from the [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]], he set out to build more houses, ports, and roads.{{sfn|Streeter|2000|p=18}} Árbenz also set out to reform Guatemala's economic institutions; he planned to construct factories, increase mining, expand transportation infrastructure, and expand the banking system.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|p=64}} Land reform was the centerpiece of Árbenz's election campaign.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=49}}{{sfn|Handy|1994|p=84}} The revolutionary organizations that had helped put Árbenz in power kept constant pressure on him to live up to his campaign promises regarding land reform.{{sfn|Handy|1994|p=85}} Agrarian reform was one of the areas of policy which the Arévalo administration had not ventured into;{{sfn|Immerman|1982|p=64}} when Árbenz took office, only 2% of the population owned 70% of the land.{{sfn|Paterson|2009|p=304}}

Historian Jim Handy described Árbenz's economic and political ideals as "decidedly pragmatic and capitalist in temper".{{sfn|Handy|1994|p=36}} According to historian [[Stephen Schlesinger]], while Árbenz did have a few communists in lower-level positions in his administration, he "was not a dictator, he was not a [[Crypto-communism|crypto-communist]]". Schlesinger described him as a [[Democratic Socialism|democratic socialist]].{{sfn|Schlesinger|2011}} Nevertheless, some of his policies, particularly those involving agrarian reform, would be branded as "communist" by the Guatemalan upper class and the [[United Fruit Company]].{{sfn|Malkin|2011a}}{{sfn|Chomsky|1985|pp=154–160}} Historian [[Piero Gleijeses]] has argued that although Árbenz's policies were intentionally capitalist in nature, his personal views gradually shifted towards communism.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=77}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|p=134}} His goal was to increase Guatemala's economic and political independence, and he believed that to do this Guatemala needed to build a strong domestic economy.{{sfn|Immerman|1982|pp=62–63}} He made an effort to reach out to the indigenous [[Mayan people]], and sent government representatives to confer with them. From this effort he learned that the Maya held strongly to their ideals of dignity and self-determination; inspired in part by this, he stated in 1951 that "If the independence and prosperity of our people were incompatible, which for certain they are not, I am sure that the great majority of Guatemalans would prefer to be a poor nation, but free, and not a rich colony, but enslaved."{{sfn|Immerman|1982|p=63}}

Although the policies of the Árbenz government were based on a moderate form of capitalism,{{sfn|Streeter|2000|pp=18–19}} the communist movement did grow stronger during his presidency, partly because Arévalo released its imprisoned leaders in 1944, and also through the strength of its teachers' union.{{sfn|Forster|2001|pp=98–99}} Although the Communist party was banned for much of the Guatemalan Revolution,{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} the Guatemalan government welcomed large numbers of communist and socialist refugees fleeing the dictatorial governments of neighboring countries, and this influx strengthened the domestic movement.{{sfn|Forster|2001|pp=98–99}} In addition, Árbenz had personal ties to some members of the communist [[Guatemalan Party of Labour]], which was legalized during his government.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=73–84}} The most prominent of these was [[José Manuel Fortuny]]. Fortuny played the role of friend and adviser to Árbenz through the three years of his government, from 1951 to 1954.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=50–60}} Fortuny wrote several speeches for Árbenz, and in his role as agricultural secretary{{sfn|Ibarra|2006}} helped craft the landmark agrarian reform bill. Despite his position in Árbenz's government, however, Fortuny never became a popular figure in Guatemala, and did not have a large popular following like some other communist leaders.{{sfn|Schlesinger|Kinzer|1999|pp=55–59}} The communist party remained numerically weak, without any representation in Árbenz's cabinet of ministers.{{sfn|Schlesinger|Kinzer|1999|pp=55–59}} A handful of communists were appointed to lower-level positions in the government.{{sfn|Schlesinger|2011}} Árbenz read and admired the works of Marx, Lenin, and Stalin (before Khrushchev's report); officials in his government eulogized Stalin as a "great statesman and leader&nbsp;... whose passing is mourned by all progressive men".{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=141–181}} The Guatemalan Congress paid tribute to [[Joseph Stalin]] with a "minute of silence" when Stalin died in 1953, a fact that was remarked upon by later observers.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1992|pp=181–379}} Árbenz had several supporters among the communist members of the legislature, but they were only a small part of the government coalition.{{sfn|Schlesinger|2011}}