march 3

Operation PBSUCCESS

Covert CIA operation that overthrew the democratically elected Guatemalan government in 1954.

Maya

Indigenous people of Guatemala.

Ladino

Mixed European and Mayan.

Fincas

Plantations with no worker’s rights, employed Mayans.

United Fruit Company (UFC)

Owned 550,000 acres of land in Guatemala, US company.

International Railways of Central America

Sister company of UFC that held monopolies over Guatemala’s most important assets.

Labour Code of 1947

Gave workers rights to unionize and demand pay rises for the first time.

Cold War

Political and military tension between superpowers, notably the US and the Soviet Union, following World War II.

PGT

Guatemalan Labour Party - a Marxist organization.

Stalin; Stalin’s death

Caused more countries to become left-leaning.

Napalm

Highly flammable substance dropped on indigenous communities in Guatemala assumed to be harboring guerillas.

President Carlos Arana

Became president of Guatemala in 1970; claimed he would turn the country into a cemetery to pacify it.

Kekchi massacre

Massacre of indigenous Kekchi people during a protest in 1978.

Gen. Lucas Garcia

Came to power in 1978; employed techniques comparable to genocide.

Gen. Ríos Montt

Assumed power in a coup after Garcia; enacted similar genocidal policies.

FAR (Rebel Armed Forces)

Guerilla organization established in 1961.

Civic-Action

US idea aimed at dividing Indigenous communities by providing some with greater benefits.

Presidents Carter and Reagan and Guatemala

Carter cut off aid to Guatemala; Reagan resumed funding, while aid from Taiwan and Israel continued.

NSC-68

Established US Cold War policy, creating a strong anti-communist stance with an us vs. them mentality.

John Foster Dulles

Hard-line anti-communist and US Secretary of State under Eisenhower.

Arevalo

Promoted social reform, liberalism, democracy, and universal suffrage; left-leaning.

Jacobo Arbenz

Minister of defense who opposed Arana and sought more health, education, and social programs for the people.

Decree 900

Arbenz’s land reform program intended to redistribute land in Guatemala.

Caribbean Legion

A military organization that aimed to promote anti-communist sentiments throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.