Jacobs Arbenz and Land Reform in Guatemala

Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán ( ) Born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala to Guatemalan mother and Swiss father graduated as sub-lieutenant in the army joined Guatemalan Military Academy and became history and science teacher Learned socialism and political philosophy from love, Maria Cristina Vilanova Became secret opponent of dictator Ubico

Presidency Took office March 15, 1951 with 65% of vote Agrarian Reform approved in 1952 Largest opponents to land reform- United Fruit Company with over 550,000 acres of land on Atlantic Coast 85% of this land was uncultivated

Arbenz, 1951 “All the riches of Guatemala are not as important as the life, the freedom, the dignity, the health and the happiness of the most humble of its people. How wrong we would be if--mistaking the means for the end--we were to set financial stability and economic growth as the supreme goals of our policy, sacrificing to them the well being of our masses... Our task is to work together in order to produce more wealth... But we must distribute these riches so that those who have less--and they are the immense majority--benefit more, while those who have more--and they are so few--also benefit, but to a lesser extent. How could it be otherwise, given the poverty, the poor health, and the lack of education of our people?"

Five-Part Plan of Agrarian Reform Develop the peasant capitalist economy and the capitalist agricultural economy in general Distribute land to landless peasants and peasants possessing very little land Facilitate new capital investment in agriculture through the rent of nationalized lands Introduce new forms of cultivation, especially endowing upon the least powerful peasants livestock, fertilizers, seeds, and technical assistance Increase agricultural credit for all peasants and agricultural capitalists in general

Agrarian Reform in Practice Gave 1.5 million acres of land to around 100,000 families Lands distributed could be no larger than acres each Redistribution not done by govt.- citizens had to apply for land to be expropriated and redistributed to them The Guatemalan Government offered the United Fruit Company $525,000 in compensation for 209,842 of land- they wanted $16 million

Ramifications United Fruit Company wanted their Land valued at $16 million. This didn’t happen. In essence, The U.S. was intensely upset about this situation. World viewed the Arbenz doctrine as communist. Gave the U.S. the opportunity to vigorously pursue communism in Guatemala. Which leads to CIA involvement.

Carlos Castillo Armas (November 4, 1914 – July 26, 1957) -Graduated from Escuela Politécnica military academy - Trained at Fort Leavenworth Kansas -Supported Colonel Jacobo Arana, who was murdered shortly before attempting to take over the presidency -Attempted to overthrow Arévalo, exiled in Honduras led CIA backed invasion, leading to Árbenz forced resignation -Formed part of military rule and on Sept. 1st 1954 became president -National Committee of Defense Against Communism and Preventive Penal Law Against Communism -July 26, assasination

CIA: Eisenhower, Dulles, Pawley,& PBSUCCESS -Communist threat/ UFCO/ propagation of rumors surrounding "germ warfare" in Korea (?) -Rudolf Shoenfield U.S. ambassador, too "timid" to protect "large interests in the country" -TPAJAX Iran gives Washington confidence - "Strangling the Red dictatorship in Guatemala"(Pawley) an "Extremely high priority" (Eisenhower) -Castillo Armas's air force invasion on 18 June Psycological Warfare:"Henry, put away the law books...Bill, go ahead and get the planes" (Eisenhower)

CIA Interest and Involvement in Guatemala CIA viewed Arbenz as one of the major threats in Latin America Agrarian reformed policies threatened U.S. interest in the region, most notably United Fruit. Embarked on a two-pronged campaign to oust Arbenz from office: Disperse misinformation to media outlets and provide funding and training to a small group of fugitive military officers led by Carlos Castillo Armas known as the "liberacionista army". Under mounting pressure from the CIA and the Military High- Command, Arbenz secretly purchases arms from Czechoslovakia, which are later discovered. The military high-command finally stepped in and asked for Arbenz's resignation.