TIME: Almanac 1995

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<text id=93CT1705> <link 89TT2228> <title> Guatemala--History </title> <history> Compact ALMANAC--CIA Factbook Middle America Guatemala </history> <article> <source>CIA World Factbook</source> <hdr> History </hdr> <body> The great Mayan civilization flourished throughout much of Guatemala and surrounding territories before the Spanish conquest. In 1523-24, the Mayans were defeated by Pedro de Alvarado. Under Spanish colonial rule the Captaincy-General of Guatemala extended throughout Central America. The first colonial capital, Ciudad Vieja, was ruined by flood and earthquake in 1542. Survivors founded Antigua, the second capital, in 1543. In the 17th century, it became one of the richest capitals in the New World. Always vulnerable to volcanic eruptions, floods, and earthquakes, it was destroyed by two earthquakes in 1773, but the remnants of its magnificent Spanish colonial architecture have been preserved as a national monument. The third capital, Guatemala City, was founded in 1776 after Antigua was abandoned. Since gaining independence from Spain on September 15, 1821, first as part of the Mexican Empire and then of the American Federation, Guatemala has had a turbulent history. After the federation's dissolution in 1840, the country passed through a series of dictatorships broken only by short periods of representative government. With the overthrow of Gen. Jorge Ubico's dictatorship in 1944 by the "October Revolutionaries"--dissident military officers, students, and liberal professionals--Guatemalans set about modernizing the society. Social reforms begun under President Juan Jose Arevalo (1945-50) were continued by his successor, Col. Jacobo Arbenz. Col. Arbenz permitted the communist party (Guatemalan Labor Party) to gain legal status in 1952. By the midpoint of Arbenz's term, communists controlled key peasant organizations, labor unions, and the governing political party, holding some key government positions. Despite most Guatemalans' attachment to the ideals of the 1944 revolution, with which Arbenz identified his administration, key segments of society and the military viewed his policies as a menace. The army refused to defend the government when a group led by Col. Carlos Castillo Armas invaded the country from Honduras in 1954 and eventually took over the government. The assassination of President Castillo in 1957 precipitated a period of confusion from which Gen. Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes emerged as president in 1958. A 1960 revolt by junior military officers failed, and some of the participants went into hiding, creating the nucleus of a guerrilla movement which established close ties with Cuba. In early 1963, a new military group, headed by Col. Enrique Peralta Azurdia, restored order. However, the unconstitutional nature of the regime created disaffection, played upon by the guerrillas, especially among students. A Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution promulgated in September 1965. The moderate Revolutionary Party won the presidency by a plurality in the 1966 elections. Shortly after President Julio Cesar Mendez Montenegro took office, the army launched a major counterinsurgency campaign that largely broke up the guerrilla movement in the countryside. The guerrillas concentrated their terrorist activities in Guatemala City, where they assassinated many leading figures, including the U.S. Ambassador in 1968. The new president, Gen. Carlos Arana (1970-74), declared a state of siege, and an intense antiterrorist campaign forced terrorist groups to reduce their activity markedly. Gen. Kjell Laugerud Garcia was declared winner of the disputed 1974 elections. During his administration, political violence decreased, and there was greater freedom of expression. Gen. Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia was inaugurated on July 1, 1978, and promised to attack vigorously Guatemala's socioeconomic problems; however, political violence increased. Three principal leftwing guerrilla groups--the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), the Revolutionary Organization of Armed People (ORPA), and the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR)--conducted economic sabotage and targeted government installations and members of government security forces in armed attacks. These three organizations have since combined with a fourth guerrilla organization, the outlawed communist party, Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT), to form the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). At the same time, extreme rightwing groups of self-appointed vigilantes, such as the Secret Anti-Communist Army (ESA) and the White Hand, tortured and murdered students, professionals, and peasants, whom they suspected were involved in leftist activities. As the March 7, 1982 elections approached, political violence steadily increased in an effort by guerrillas to disrupt the electoral process. The winner by plurality was Gen. Anibal Guevara, the former Defense Minister. Opposition parties, however, claimed electoral fraud. On the morning of March 23, 1982, the National Palace in Guatemala City was surrounded by army troops commanded by junior officers. Brig. Gen. Efrain Jose Rios Montt, an inactive military officer widely respected by young officers, was approached and agreed to negotiate the departure of Gen. Lucas. Rios Montt had been the candidate of the Christian Democratic Party in the 1974 presidential elections and was widely believed to have lost by fraud. Rios Montt headed a junta that canceled the 1965 constitution, dissolved the Congress, suspended political parties, and canceled the law governing elections. On June 9, Rios Montt accepted the resignations of the two other junta members and assumed the title of President of the Republic. The Rios Montt government imposed a state of siege on July 1, 1982, severely restricting civil liberties, and created a system of special courts. These courts were part of the executive branch and completely independent of the regular judiciary. The secrecy of the special courts--especially in light of the death sentences handed down to 15 men--caused concern inside and outside of the country. Politically, Rios Montt formed an advisory council of state to assist him in returning the nation to democracy. A series of electoral laws were promulgated on March 23, 1983. The state of siege was lifted on that date, and political activity was once again allowed. The Rios Montt government scheduled Constituent Assembly elections for July 1, 1984. Guerrilla forces denounced the new government and stepped up their activities. Rios Montt sought to combat the guerrillas through a combined effort of military actions and economic reforms, or, in his words, through "rifles and beans." The government also formed civilian defense forces and achieved success in containing the insurgency. Disturbances occurred within the government on June 29, leading to the imposition of a state of alarm and a shakeup of Rios Montt's advisers. Coup rumors continued, and on August 8, 1983, Rios Montt was deposed by the Guatemalan Army. The Minister of Defense, Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores, was proclaimed head of state on August 8. Gen. Mejia claimed that a group of "religious fanatics" were abusing their positions in the government and that corruption had to be weeded out. The army, Mejia added, would guide the nation back to constitutionality. The Mejia government quickly abolished the controversial courts of special jurisdiction. Constituent Assembly elections were held on July 1, 1984, and Gen. Mejia stated that he planned to turn over the government to an elected successor in early 1986. On May 30, 1985, after 9 months of debate, the Constituent Assembly finished drafting a new constitution for the Republic of Guatemala which went into effect on January 14, 1986, once Congress took office. On June 5, 1985, Chief of State Mejia called general elections--president, congress, mayor, and city councils--for November 3, 1985. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff election was held on December 8, between the two highest vote getters. Both the first round and the runoff were major victories for the Christian Democratic Party of Guatemala (DCG). Its candidate, Vinicio Cerezo, won the presidency, receiving almost 70% of the vote in the runoff. The DCG won an absolute majority in the national Congress, winning 51 of the 100 seats in that body. The party also won a vast majority of the country's 30 mayors. Both local and international election observers agreed that both electoral rounds were honest and fair. On January 14, 1986, both the new president and the new Congress were sworn for 5-year terms, initiating a civilian and democratic government, after 15 years of military regimes. Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, December 1986. </body> </article> </text>