Guatemalan Revolution and the Coup of 1954

  1. What did happen in Guatemala in 1954? Why was this event so relevant for the generations to come?

    In 1954, a coup deposed the Guatemalan president, marking the end of the revolution. The coup is important because it marked a pivotal movement in US foreign policy during the Cold War.

  2. Who was President Jacobo Arbenz, and what was he trying to do in Guatemala?

    President Jacobo Arbenz was a soldier and politician who served as Guatemala's second democratically elected president from 1951 to 1954. He believed that land reform would save his country, and he wanted agrarian reform. The coup was to protect the interests of the United States fruit company.

  3. What happened in the following 40 years in Guatemala after the 1954 coup?

    Post the coup in 1954 Guatemala faced a succession of various military dictatorships backed by the United States. In addition, the military led wide spread massacres of civilian population, and in 1996 Guatemalan government and rebel groups signed peace accords marking the end of civil war.