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Jorge Ubico is elected as President
Ubico ruled for 13 years, extending his terms over the years and ruling with an iron fist. He maintained the peace with the help of the police force and initiated multiple domestic programs without providing the financial support. He is often viewed as a cold leader but he did help to abolish slavery, improve food prices and modernize the country. He also improved the economy by focusing on the exportation of coffee. -
The Guatemalan Revolution begins
A group of laborers and university students organized a group and rose up against Jorge Ubico and demanded his resignation. In his place, there was a three-way military dictatorship instated which was taken over by Jacobo Arbenz in October. Later, Juan Jose Arevalo was elected a president. -
Jacobo Arbenz is elected president
During his presidency, Arbenz worked towards balancing the scale of power between the people. He expanded the right to vote, the right to organize strikes and more. His most important and well-known reform was taking the unused land which was set aside for business assets and corporations and giving it back to the indigenous people they were taken from. While this benefited the poor, it did not do so for the corporations who had just lost their land, including the United Fruit Company. -
Guatemalan Coup D'etat
After the land was taken from the United Fruit Company, the U.S. government sent the CIA to overthrow the government. They did so with reasoning that Arbenz was a communist and he was exiled for the remainder of his lifetime. He was replaced with Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas who eventually changed the government into a representative democracy. -
Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas is assasinated
While walking throughout the presidential palace in the Guatemalan capital, Armas was shot twice. His shooter was Romeo Vasquez Sanchez, who was part of Armas' presidential guard and was a leftist sympathizer. He shot Armas and then fled; later committing suicide in another room of the palace. -
The Guatemalan Civil War begins
The war was between the Guatemalan Government and leftist rebel groups which supported many indigenous groups, including the Mayans. The president Carlos Castillo Arbenz had stripped the poor of their land and in response, the poor rose to fight him. -
The Central American Common Market Treaty was established
Five Central American nations were brought together by the treaty which was meant to facilitate trade throughout the different countries. The countries included Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and later, Costa Rica. However, the treaty feel apart later within the same decade. -
The CIA attempt to overthrow the Cuban Government
The CIA sent in 1,500 agents to Cuba to prevent the spread of Communism from Fidel Castro. The troops were launched from both Guatemala and Nicaragua, but only 26 returned after the troops were defeated within a matter of days. -
Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio is elected as President
Osorio is known for imposing the State of Siege on the country within months of his election. This caused increased oppression throughout the nation including killings, torture, increasingly harsh labor and more. An estimated amount of 20,000 people were killed or disappeared during the four year time period of Osorio's presidency. -
The Mayan Genoicide
During one of the the Guatemalan government's counterinsurgency operations, roughly 100,000 Mayans were murdered. The violence continued and the people were killed, tortured or punished by any other aggressive means necessary. The reign of terror continued. -
General Efrain Rios Montt became the next President, through force
Montt ruled for 17 months, during which time hundreds of indigenous people were murdered, had their homes destroyed or worse. During his short presidency he established the Guatemalan Republic Front. -
The Guatemalan Civil War ends
After 35 years of civil war, the new president of Guatemala declares a cease fire between the military and the leftist guerillas. Later, the two groups signed an accord to officially end the war and to promise to have respect for the indigenous people and their ways.