Shattered Hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944-1954

458 Pages·1991·9.046 MB·English

by  Piero Gleijeses

Shattered Hope
Captain Jacobo Arbenz, October 1944. Arbenz was, the CIA later wrote, “brilliant
. . . cultured.”
Shattered Hope
THE GUATEMALAN REVOLUTION AND
THE UNITED STATES, 1944-1954
Piero Gleijeses
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON NEW JERSEY
Copyright C> 1991 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press. 41 William Street.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PuMication Data
Gleijeses. Piero.
Shattered hope : the Guatemalan revolution and the United States. 1944-1954 / Piero Gleijeses.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
I. United States—Foreign relations—Guatemala. 2. Guatemala—Foreign relations—United
States. 3. United Sûtes—Foreign relations—1945-1953. 4. Guatemala—Politics and
government—1945-1985.1. Title.
EI83.8.G9S48 1991 327.7307281 09044—dc20 90—8901
ISBN 0-691-07817-3
ISBN 0-691-02556-8 (pbk.)
The author gratefully acknowledges permission from the following publications in which
portions of chapters 1, 3. 5, and 8 previously appeared:
Mesoamérica, “Laaldeade Ubico: Guatemala. 1931-1944.“ June 1989 (chapter I);
Journal of Latin American Studies. “The Death of Arana.“ October 1990 (chapter 3):
Journal of Latin American Studies. “Juan José Arévalo and the Caribbean Legion.“ February
1989 (chapter 5);
Journal of Latin American Studies. “The Agrarian Reform of Jacobo Arbenz.“ October 1989
(chapter 8).
The photographs appearing in this book were graciously provided from private collections.
This book has been composed in Linotron Times Roman
Princeton University Press books are printed on
acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of
the Council on Library Resources
http://pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
First Princeton Paperback printing, 1992
10 9 8
To Setsuko Ono and Letterina Gleijeses

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
List of Figures xi
Acknowledgments xiii
A Note on Documentation XV
Abbreviations xvii
Prologue
Witnesses 3
Chapter 1
The Era of Ubico 8
Chapter 2
The Presidency of Juan José Arévaio 30
Chapter 3
The Death of Francisco Arana 50
Chapter 4
The Election of Jacobo Arbenz 72
Chapter 5
The United States and Arevalo: Arévaio’s Sins 85
Chapter 6
The United States and Arévaio: The U.S. Response 117
Chapter 7
The World of Jacobo Arbenz 134
Chapter 8
The Agrarian Reform 149
Chapter 9
The Revolutionary Forces 171
Chapter 10
The “Christian” Opposition 208
Chapter 11
The International Conspiracy against Guatemala 223
viii • Contents
Chapter 12
The Caracas Conference 267
Chapter 13
The Agony of the Regime 279
Chapter 14
The Fall of Arbenz 319
Chapter 15
Conclusion 361
Epilogue
The Fate of the Defeated 388
Bibliography 395
Index 423
Illustrations
Frontispiece. Captain Jacobo Arbenz, October 1944
Following page 148
Jacobo Arbenz and his wife Marla, shortly after their marriage in 1939
Jacobo and Marla, September 1945
Jorge Toriello flanked by Francisco Arana and Jacobo Arbenz
Guatemalan soldiers being greeted by Jorge Toriello, October 22,1944
Juan José Arévalo returned to become the first president of the
Guatemalan revolution
Francisco Arana, chief of the armed forces under Arévalo
Arévalo “had the physique of a very big man”
Arana courted U.S. officials
Arana and Arévalo
Carlos Paz Tejada and Arévalo
President Arbenz on his inauguration day
Marla de Arbenz on inauguration day
Arbenz in exile, painted by his wife in 1965
Arbenz in Havana, 1962