The Guatemalan Revolution began in 1944 due to the unhappines of the people under the dictatorship of Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico Castañeda, nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan dictator. A general in the Guatemalan army, he was elected to the presidency in 1931, in an election where he was the only candidate. He continued his predecessors' policies of giving ma…
What was the result of the Guatemala Revolution?
Guatemalan Revolution. It is also known as the Ten Years of Spring, highlighting the only years of representative democracy in Guatemala from 1930 until the end of the civil war in 1996, and included a program of agrarian reform that was enormously influential across Latin America.
How did the Guatemalan Civil War start?
While fighting took place between government forces and rebel groups, much of the violence was a large coordinated campaign of one-sided violence by the Guatemalan state against the civilian population from the mid-1960s onward. The military intelligence services coordinated killings and "disappearances" of opponents of the state.
What caused the gap between Mayan and Mayan culture in Guatemala?
Many believe this gap has been caused by foreign corporations coming in and exploiting the native Mayan Indians of the country. Although the Mayans make up a huge majority of the Guatemalan population, they are among the country's very poorest people. This disparity in wealth was a huge catalyst for the country's civil war.
How did the United Fruit Company affect the revolution in Guatemala?
Due to its long association with Ubico's government, the United Fruit Company (UFC) was seen as an impediment to progress by Guatemalan revolutionaries after 1944. This image was worsened by the company's discriminatory policies towards its colored workers.
What was the cause of the civil war in Guatemala?
It is clear that the force that drove the civil war for the insurgents in Guatemala was the reality of economic oppression and violence that existed on a daily basis, inflicted primarily by the governing elite.
When did the Guatemalan Revolution start?
1944 – 1954Guatemalan Revolution / Period
What was the goal of the Guatemalan revolution?
The Guatemalan Revolution (Spanish: Revolución de Guatemala) was the period in Guatemalan history between the popular uprising that overthrew dictator Jorge Ubico in 1944 and the United States-orchestrated coup d'état in 1954 that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz.
Why did U.S. overthrow Guatemala?
In the excerpt, Eisenhower justified the overthrow of Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz, because of the communist threat the country had posed to the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.
Who led the Guatemalan revolution?
The Guatemalan operation was known as “Operation PBSUCCESS.” In 1952, two years after the election of Jacobo Arbenz, the CIA began recruiting an opposition force to overthrow him. Looking to the Guatemalan military, the CIA chose a disgruntled, anti-Arbenz officer, named Carlos Castillo Armas, to lead the operation.
How did the CIA overthrow Guatemala?
On June 27, 1954, democratically elected Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was deposed in a CIA-sponsored coup to protect the profits of the United Fruit Company. Arbenz was replaced by decades of brutal U.S.-backed regimes who committed widespread torture and genocide.
How did U.S. hurt Guatemala?
The civil war which erupted as a result of American intervention stifled Guatemala's economic growth, put an end to its political independence, and allowed a corrupt ruling class to dominate the country for its own political and economic gain.
When did the U.S. overthrow Guatemala?
June 1954In June 1954 President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala became the first Latin American leader overthrown in a coup organised by the US government.
What problem did Guatemala face that stemmed from imperialism?
What problem did Guatemala, Cuba, and Chile face that stemmed from imperialism? Strong military leaders ruled. Peasants owned little to no land compared to the colonizers and White Europeans.
Background
Manuel Estrada Cabrera, President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. Cabrera granted large concessions to the American United Fruit Company
October revolution
The onset of World War II resulted in increasing economic unrest in Guatemala. Ubico responded by cracking down more fiercely on any form of protest or dissent.
Presidency of Arévalo
Arévalo took office on 15 March 1945, inheriting a country with numerous social and economic issues. Despite Ubico's policy of using unpaid labor to build public roads, internal transport was severely inadequate. 70% of the population was illiterate, and malnutrition and poor health were widespread.
Presidency of Árbenz
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. In 1950, the economically moderate Partido de Integridad Nacional (PIN) announced that Árbenz would be its presidential candidate in the upcoming election.
United Fruit Company
The United Fruit Company had been formed in 1899 by the merger of two large American corporations. The new company had major holdings of land and railroads across Central America, which it used to support its business of exporting bananas. In 1900 it was already the world's largest exporter of bananas.
CIA instigated coup d'état
In addition to the lobbying of the United Fruit Company, several other factors also led the United States to launch the coup that toppled Árbenz in 1954. During the years of the Guatemalan Revolution, military coups occurred in several other Central American countries that brought firmly anti-communist governments to power.
What was the cause of the Guatemalan civil war?
Although the Mayans make up a huge majority of the Guatemalan population, they are among the country's very poorest people. This disparity in wealth was a huge catalyst for the country's civil war. With this, let's get to the war. Due to the fact that its 36 years saw power changing hands an awful lot, we'll try to keep things simple, only naming the biggest power players.
Why is Guatemala so violent?
Sadly, the history of Guatemala is a violent one. For centuries, it has been marked with a huge gap between its poor and its wealthy. Many believe this gap has been caused by foreign corporations coming in and exploiting the native Mayan Indians of the country.
How long has the Guatemalan Civil War been around?
Many assert foreign corporations, especially American corporations, are to blame for this. Lasting 36 years, the Guatemalan Civil War began in 1960 as the poor of Guatemala rebelled against government oppression.
How many lives were lost in the Guatemalan Civil War?
The Guatemalan Civil War cost 200,000 lives over 36 years. Discover the causes of the war, learn about Cesar Mendez's civil rule, and examine peace negotiations in the 1990s, and find out the consequences of the Guatemalan Civil War. Updated: 10/09/2021
What happened in 1960 Guatemala?
In 1960, the poor had reached their limit and fighters rose up in rebellion. With this, Colonel Armas was murdered and a new general took over rule of Guatemala. Tragically, the rule of this new military man was marked with bloodshed and horrible atrocities against the poor of Guatemala.
Why was Cesar Mendez important?
His rule is important because it was the only civilian ruler since the war began. Of course, the military was not at all thrilled by this, and neither was the U.S., who was backing the military. During Mendez's rule, it's believed the angry military butchered thousands upon thousands of Guatemalan Mayans in their plight to regain power. Like the others before him, Mendez fell and another military man came to power.
How many people died in the Guatemalan Civil War?
Short Description: The Guatemalan Civil War was a particularly bloody, 36-year national conflict that ultimately resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people, mostly indigenous Maya. Key Players/Participants: General Efraín Ríos Montt, several other Guatemalan military rulers, rebel insurgents in both Guatemala City and the rural highlands.
What was the first major counterinsurgency in Guatemala?
That year, U.S. advisors designed a military program to bomb villages in the guerilla-heavy areas of Zacapa and Izabal , which was largely a Ladino (non-indigenous) region of Guatemala. This was the first major counterinsurgency, and it resulted in the killing or disappearing of anywhere between 2,800 and 8,000 people, mostly civilians. The government established a network of counterinsurgency surveillance that would exercise control over civilians for the next 30 years.
What was the bloodiest war in Latin America?
Rebecca Bodenheimer. Updated March 22, 2020. The Guatemalan Civil War was the bloodiest Cold War conflict in Latin America. During the war, which lasted from 1960 to 1996, over 200,000 people were killed and one million people were displaced. The 1999 UN Truth Commission found that 83% of casualties were indigenous Maya, ...
When did the Guatemalan dictator die?
He died in the spring of 2018. By the end of the 1980s, 90% of the Guatemalan population lived below the official poverty line. The war left 10% of the population displaced, and there was mass migration to the capital and the formation of shantytowns.
When did the Maya start dumping bodies?
Kidnappings and public dumping of tortured bodies became common in the early 1980s . Many rebels retreated into the countryside or exile to escape the repression, and others were offered amnesty in exchange for appearing on television to denounce their former comrades. At the beginning of the decade, most state violence was concentrated in the cities, but it began to shift to Maya villages in the western highlands.
Who was the president of Guatemala in 1955?
Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (center), ousted as president of Guatemala in an anti-Communist revolt, speaks with a group of French reporters in Paris. In 1955, Arbenz Guzman and his wife traveled to Switzerland, where he negotiated with Swiss authorities for recognition of his Swiss citizenship, based on the nationality of his father. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images
Who was the U.S.-backed coup against?
Background: The U.S.-Backed Coup Against Jacobo Árbenz. During the 1940s, a leftist government came into power in Guatemala, and Jacobo Árbenz, a populist military officer with support from communist groups, was elected to the presidency in 1951.
Why did the US bomb Guatemala?
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) flew B-26 bombers disguised as Guatemalan military jets to bomb the rebel bases because the coup threatened US plans for the invasion of Cuba as well as the Guatemalan regime it supported. The rebels fled to the hills of eastern Guatemala and neighboring Honduras and formed the kernel of what became known as MR-13 ( Movimiento Revolucionario 13 Noviembre ). The surviving officers fled into the hills of eastern Guatemala, and later established communication with the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. By 1962, those surviving officers had established an insurgent movement known as the MR-13, named after the date of the officers' revolt.
What was the Guatemalan Civil War?
The Guatemalan Civil War was a civil war in Guatemala fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups, which were primarily supported by ethnic Maya indigenous peoples and Ladino peasants. The government forces have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population of Guatemala during the civil war and for widespread human rights violations against civilians. The context of the struggle was based on longstanding issues of unfair land distribution; European-descended residents and foreign companies, such as the American United Fruit Company, had dominated control over much of the land, leading to conflicts with the rural poor.
When did the Guatemalan military start bombing?
In 1964 and 1965, the Guatemalan Armed Forces began engaging in counterinsurgency operations against the MR-13 in eastern Guatemala. In February and March 1964, the Guatemalan Air Force began a selective bombing campaign against MR-13 bases in Izabal, which was followed by a counterinsurgency sweep in the neighboring province of Zacapa under the code-name "Operation Falcon" in September and October of the following year.
What was the cause of the 1960s military revolt?
On 13 November 1960, a group of left-wing junior military officers of the Escuela Politécnica national military academy led a failed revolt against the autocratic government (1958–63) of General Ydigoras Fuentes, who had usurped power in 1958, after the assassination of the incumbent Colonel Castillo Armas. The young officers' were outraged by the staggering corruption of the Ydígoras regime, the government's showing of favoritism in giving military promotions and other rewards to officers who supported Ydígoras, and what they perceived as incompetence in running the country. The immediate trigger for their revolt, however, was Ydígoras' decision to allow the United States to train an invasion force in Guatemala to prepare for the planned Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba without consulting the Guatemalan military and without sharing with the military the payoff he received in exchange from the US government. The military was concerned about the infringement on the sovereignty of their country as unmarked US warplanes piloted by US-based Cuban exiles flew in large numbers over their country and the US established a secret airstrip and training camp at Retalhuleu to prepare for its invasion of Cuba. The rebellion was not ideological in its origins.
How did the Israeli government help Guatemala?
During the Central American crisis, the Israeli government cooperated closely with the United States in providing supplementary military and intelligence support for US-backed regimes in the region. This was especially true in Guatemala after 1977, when U.S. support became subject to constraints stemming from the rising tensions between Guatemala and Belize and Congressional opposition to the Guatemalan government's human rights practices. While the CIA and the US Green Berets continued to function covertly in Guatemala – providing training and counterinsurgency advice – a critical aspect of American support involved outsourcing operations to proxies such as Israel and Argentina. In a declassified National Security Council memo dated 1 August 1983, NSC aids Oliver North and Alfonso Sapia-Bosch reported to National Security Advisor William P. Clark that his deputy Robert McFarlane was planning to exploit Israeli intelligence networks to secretly arrange for the loan of 10 UH-1H "Huey" helicopters to Guatemala, which lacked the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) credits to obtain the helicopters. The memo reads, "With regard to the loan of ten helicopters, it is [our] understanding that Bud [Robert McFarlane] will take this up with the Israelis. There are expectations that they would be forthcoming."
What happened in 1962 in Guatemala?
In early 1962 they returned and on 6 February 1962 in Bananera they attacked the offices of the United Fruit Company (present-day Chiquita Brands ), an American corporation that controlled vast territories in Guatemala as well as in other Central American countries. The attack sparked sympathetic strikes and university student walkouts throughout the country, to which the Ydígoras regime responded with a violent crackdown. This violent crackdown sparked the civil war.
Where did the Guatemalan guerrillas camp?
On 19 January 1972, members of a new Guatemalan guerrilla movement entered Ixcán, from Mexico, and were accepted by many farmers; in 1973, after an exploratory foray into the municipal seat of Cotzal, the insurgent group decided to set up camp underground in the mountains of Xolchiché, municipality of Chajul.
Overview
The Guatemalan Revolution (Spanish: Revolución de Guatemala) was the period in Guatemalan history between the popular uprising that overthrew dictator Jorge Ubico in 1944 and the United States-orchestrated coup d'état in 1954 that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz. This period has also been called the Ten Years of Spring, highlighting the only years of represe…
Background
Prior to the Spanish invasion in 1524, the population of Guatemala was almost exclusively Maya. The Spanish conquest created a system of wealthy European landowners overseeing a labor force composed of slaves and bonded laborers. However, the community lands of the indigenous population remained in their control until the late 19th century. At this point, rising global demand for coffe…
October revolution
By mid-October, several different plans to overthrow the junta had been set in motion by various factions of the pro-democracy movement, including teachers, students, and progressive factions of the army. On 19 October, the government learned of one of these conspiracies.
That same day, a small group of army officers launched a coup, led by Francis…
Presidency of Arévalo
Arévalo took office on 15 March 1945, inheriting a country with numerous social and economic issues. Despite Ubico's policy of using unpaid labor to build public roads, internal transport was severely inadequate. 70% of the population was illiterate, and malnutrition and poor health were widespread. The wealthiest 2% of landowners owned nearly three quarters of agricultural land, and as a result less than 1% was cultivated. The indigenous peasants either had no land, or had …
Presidency of Árbenz
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. In 1950, the economically moderate Partido de Integridad Nacional (PIN) announced that Árbenz would be its presidential candidate in the upcoming election. This announcement was quickly followed by endorsements from most parties on the left, including the influential PAR, as well a…
United Fruit Company
The United Fruit Company had been formed in 1899 by the merger of two large American corporations. The new company had major holdings of land and railroads across Central America, which it used to support its business of exporting bananas. In 1900 it was already the world's largest exporter of bananas. By 1930 it had an operating capital of US$215 million and had been the largest landowner and employer in Guatemala for several years. Under Manuel Estrada Cabr…
CIA instigated coup d'état
In addition to the lobbying of the United Fruit Company, several other factors also led the United States to launch the coup that toppled Árbenz in 1954. During the years of the Guatemalan Revolution, military coups occurred in several other Central American countries that brought firmly anti-communist governments to power. Army officer Major Oscar Osorio won staged elections i…
Further reading
• Cullather, Nicholas (2006). Secret History: The CIA's Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala 1952–54 (2nd ed.). Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-5468-2.
• Gleijeses, Piero (October 1989). "The Agrarian Reform of Jacobo Arbenz". Journal of Latin American Studies. Cambridge University Press. 21 (3): 453–480. JSTOR 156959. (subscription required)