THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1944

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01731R001700140007-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 19, 2005
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: June 26, 1944
• Content Type: MAGAZINE

Approved. For Release 2006/01/10 : CIA-RDP80RO1731R001700140007-6
THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1944
A. "The Thirst for Civic Dignity" and Popular Revolt
1. The Fall of Ubico
The revolution which brought the Liberal Party to power in uatolriala I it
1870 did not bring any degree of democracy to the people of Guatemala. J.:r ._
Church and State was effected. This advent, however, marked the end u_f ti
dominant influence of the old conservative party, largely run by cler cal
.?~i
aristocratic elements, and marked the beginning of the efficient ttil.i,ary
dictatorships. The traditional ruling class of large landowners and he
powerful new coffee finqueros wanted a strong man in the presidency w=oo c+juuh
preserve peace and assure them of a large and steady supply of cheap ; abol,.
The period between 1870 and 1944 was marked by strong-fisted diat?atox .,, ,..s
interspersed with relatively short periods of governmental chaos resu) in
,:vow
h
t
e struggle for power among groups of military men and politicians. 'Pol
was the source of income for almost all educated Guatemalans whu left she
fincas; there wab little place for professionals or intellectuals in ire
life. 'When revolutions occurred, their effects were felt chiefly by 1--d-ca
relatively small group; they did nct mean real social or economic impsovetc!Lt4.
for the mass of the people. The lack of articulate public opinion inc the
weakness of the middle class gave full reign to the politicians. Mane. 31
Estrada Cabrera ruled Guatemala with dictatorial efficiency for the letig pp=recd
from 1898 to 1920. General Jorge Ubico became president in 1931 and i~mrcvc,*;
the techniques of an efficient military dictatorship.
In 1936 and again in 1942, General Ubico arranged that he be prev_tiled
upon to accept another term of office. Ubico was responsible for the -illf r-t
accused of plotting rebellion against his regime. Thousands of 3uatea lan
execute first and hold trial afterwv 3=.; .vrr,
to be filled with political di.ssic'.ents and it became evident thatVPo~.~e z. ;i d_=3d
to allow only one man to be elected president in the November electL is --
himself .
Ponce went to great lengths to attempt to convince important etnent;
public opinion of the need for maintaining a strong military govern:n it ix.. , L Our
in Guatemala. Fear of a general Indian uprising had been freq- ently )laa 6( 4 Lip
by dictatorial governments in the past as attempts to make their oowc mta?fi
secure. Ponce now decided to use this strategy to his ends. he sped a1if, were
pulled down and business people in the center of the city were kastil.y let.-ri2g
for the suburbs. All non-official telephone and telegraph service twx4s intr ead.ed,
Meanwhile, in the fort Guardia del Honor, the Army officers w*.o bed teen
closest to Colonel Arana determined to take up arms and overthrow the - rnmsnt
of President Arevalo. They named a provisional junta to take over the F`crternment.
Either they were convinced that government leaders were responsible for ? rats
death and were determined. to avenge him, or they were parties to a aonM:.ra.oy
which had been touched off prematurely by his death.
Approved For Release 2006/01/10 : CIA-RDP80R01731R001700140007-6
 Approved For Release 2006/01/10 : CIA-RDP80RO1731 ROO1700140007-6
At about 4:30 in the afternoon, tanks rolled out of the Guardii, del itszer
and advanced on the National Palace. The rebels demanded President Ar?i:ii.31t
immediate surrender. He replied defiantly: "My term is six Years, I U. not
serve one minute less and not one minute more," After sporadic firing bflttareen
the tanks and the hastily organized defenders of the National Palac=, ti -4riCs
temporarily retired to the fort and an ominous quiet settled over t7Le city.
A quick inventory showed that the government was in an extremely prent^ious
position. The rebel fort contained more than half the military pe*?r;onnti
immediately available in the city. The two loyal forts were eatrer.ey 1,)-* i-1
equipment;and the previous week, under one pretext or another, a Isrge Ka :city
of army and munitions had been transferred from these forts to the i.ard. ill
Honor. The rebels had possession of the only tanks and most of the hijfl na fiber
artillery as well as large stocks of rifles and hand grenades. Gut-.mal?-tnt small
Air Force, pledged its support to the government, but a frantic search fi,i3,31 to
disclose any bombs. The Guardia Civil, after some hours of apparent. ied=uLsion,
also threw its lot with the government. It was apparent, however, that the
rebels had the immediate advantage and that, unless the government ouli ~ sire
the immediate active aid of sizeable sectors of the civilian population, :.t could
hold little hope of lasting through the next ti"en.ty=four hours.
Shortly after five in the afternoon, the government sent out ward ttat
civilian volunteers would be given arms at the Military Base on Aurora U field,
about two miles from the center of the city. The headquarters of t?te twc Libor
federations became the scenes of feverish activity as organized worka~rs gm fired
to volunteer their services. They arrived on the fields of A:irora; n tru ts,
cars, on bicycles and on foot. As each new group of volunteers arr"ved
Aurora, it was greeted with resounding cheers. Between two and three tboui?.,
rifles were reportedly banded out to organized workers at this time.
labor union members, some students, teachers, and exiles from other Centr-uL
American countries took part in the fighting.
During the evening, the civilian volunteers were ox'gmnised into pls.toaon
of 37 men each. Each was in charge of a man with some military tra.ninrq,
frequently a young cadet from the Military Academy. The volunteer piatooro took
such names as "El Leon", "~9l Oso :Negro", "Vanguardia","Alia.nzap, etc. f it
and determination was high among these groups. The workers clew Mhecr. them. vrere
preparing to fight for and were determinid to defend their governnerit.
At shortly after eleven in the evening, as new groups of voluz .ears qe e
still arriving and being organized at Aurora, the rebels emerged frm ttr .rdia
del Honor and launched strong and repeated attacks upon the lational Palrus, the
Guardia Civil Headquarters, the Military Base, Aurora Airfield, and. other strategic
points in the city. The attacks continued with undiminished fury tLroagtnat the
rest of the night and well into the next day with weapons as heavy .s 1OF itlli...
meter artillery. Street fighters kept up a running battle with the tanks -in.d
planes on the government side dropped hastily improvised bombs and :.:ans c
gasoline in an attempt to knock out the tanks. When rebel tanks app=?oaat'4 this
National Palace, they were met with a shower of "Molotov Cocktails" from the
office windows. About noon on the 19t , the loyal defenders of the Aiartla 3ivil
headquarters who had been under altos c4xat attack for over ten hours.. 33554
Approved For Release 2006/01/10 : CIA-RDP80RO1731ROO1700140007-6
 Approved For Release 2006/01/10 : CIA-RDP80RO1731, j 01700140007-6
-8-
bausted their ammunition and were forced to ran up a white flag. It-,fore 1te
rebels could enter, however, the defenders were supplied with more. ri,iom.
through a back entrance and were able to continue the fight. Some, )f the ;}et
serious fighting occurred in the area between the loyal base at AuroE.a aneJ tw
Guardia del Honor. It was here that the volunteer forces of organised lsaor
were instrumental in keeping the airport and important installations of the
Military Base from falling into rebel possession.
The volunteer forces at Aurora had begun to take the offensive in t.'E+
.early hours of the 19th and by mid-morning had reached the .Avenids: ;!@ l'
Reforms and were moving closer to the Guardia del Honor. Although :hey .~:
needed here, urgent calls from other parts of the city made it neces=ary sad
some of them to defend points where the need was more desperate. Ov:r 2);.iin,
almost all of them members of BMW and the Union of Workers in Publivt Want ere
dispatched to help defend the airport when it was threatened by re-I, ?ls rio r.s.g
in from the north. Some of the heavie?t fighting took place here for ati , two
hours on the morning of the 19th. Another company of workers was stmt Yso
reinforce the defenses of the National Palace. Late in the morning a 14.?x
group of workers arrived from Escuintla to volunteer in defense of t :a g fat sent,
but there were insufficient rifles to supply all of them. Other ore{r.aizt-F crcers
arrived from Villanueva.
At about noon on the 19th the tide began to turn against the rs3ele. Corern,
ment reinforcements had arrived from Chimaltenango, Escuintla and other c'tlee
and a shipment of bombs enabled the government to bomb the rebel fort. !N.*
rebel tanks ran out of gasoline near the Rational Palace and were ca,tures, .ttt
2 P.M. the rebel junta asked for terms, and at 3 P.M. firing ceased. Thr f hXILre
later government troops and volunteers entered the Guardia del Honor, Tke ;el
leaders took refuge in the Salvadorean lmbassy. It was reported that appr ti* tely
150 persons had been killed and over 300 were wounded. Among the wot.ad.ed bt s . oee
Luis Caceros, who had retired as Secretary General of SAME' two weeks
areva^~tsi.
Many schools and private hones had been destroyed by inaccurate bombing -d
artillery fire.
Had the rebel forces been sufficiently well organized to naptur = st~' t, ; c
points within the city before government reinforcements arrived, try?> wo,U.
undoubtedly have succeeded in their purpose. Had it not been for tll= va; r ? ; per
forces, chiefly made up of organized workers, it is suite probably tit th
_,.,..
- _
rebel a wntilA have be
en
to
base. ThAswould have prevented the decisive bombing by the airforee acnd
lost the da
for the
y
government,
The spontaneous aid offered by the, workers was hi
4-A-;
44
hl
f
g
y
,C
,?1?_r
o
loyalty to the government which had. granted them the right to organt a art. ' ii-
,numer-able other advantages they bad never before enjoyed. Except for a fed- frcii I 'euintla,
workers from outside the capital were not able to participate In the figi.'.=.4 Many,
however, on hearing of the revolt, prpared to come to the city- to vo 1ntt r, It has
e o S T
CLG
..
in llqul sate went so tar at to c' , ;?deer
a railway train to carry them to the city. Before they could leave,':aowti , They
were informed th
t th
b
a
e
els bad surrendered. The members of some camped _ wiions
fl7.G "G A J. L_ re
r.A w.F.D. ___
?o~ v o 5 ouw on root for the capital
.. y
Approved For Release 2006/01/10 : CIA-RDP80RO1731 ROO1700140007-6