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| c. Guatemala |
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(See 1898–1920)| |
| 1920, April 8 |
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| MANUEL ESTRADA CABRERA, president since 1898, was deposed by the assembly because of his opposition to the scheme of Central American federation. | 1 |
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| 1920–21 |
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| Carlos Herrera, president. He was overthrown by a revolution (Dec. 5, 1921) led by Gen. José Orellana, who rejected the Central American federation scheme. | 2 |
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| 1922–26 |
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| Orellana, president. | 3 |
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| 1926–30 |
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| Lázaro Chacón, president. | 4 |
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| 1930 |
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| Bautillo Palma, president. He was overthrown (Dec. 16) by Gen. Manuel Orellana, who was not recognized by the U.S. and who soon resigned. | 5 |
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| 1930–31 |
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| José M. Andrade, president. | 6 |
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| 1931–44 |
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| GEN. JORGE UBICO (1878–1946) made himself president-dictator. He established close contact with the dictators of Honduras and El Salvador for the suppression of all opposition. Posing as a friend of the Indians, Ubico also oversaw the end of state-imposed forms of debt peonage in the country. In actual fact, however, the government then used vagrancy laws as a means of recruiting laborers for the coffee economy. This period also saw major railroad, land, and port concessions granted to a small number of foreign interests, with the United Fruit Company in the lead. | 7 |
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| 1935, June |
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| By “plebiscite” Ubico's term was extended until 1943, and subsequently (1941) a constitutional convention extended it to 1949, but he was expelled in 1944. | 8 |
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| 1941, Dec. 8 |
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| Guatemala declared war on Japan, “thus expressing the solidarity of the Guatemalan government and people with the United States.” On Dec. 11 Guatemala also declared war on Germany and Italy. | 9 |
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| 1944, June |
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| Ubico was forced to resign after a student and then general strike elicited strong support for the opposition from progressive military officers and urban middle-class groups. He was followed by a brief right-wing regime, however, pushing dissident groups to arm in preparation for revolutionary struggle. | 10 |
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| Oct |
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| A coalition of urban middle-class groups, junior army officers, and working-class activists united to launch the DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION OF 1944. JACOBO ARBENZ GUZMAN (1913–71), Francisco Arana, and Jorge Toriello established a military-civilian junta, which called for free elections in December. | 11 |
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