Francisco Javier Arana
Encyclopedia
Francisco Javier Arana (1905–1949) was one of the three leaders of the revolutionary junta
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....

 that ruled Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

 from 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945.

Major Francisco Arana was the son of lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...

 parents with mixed Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

 and Indian blood. He lacked formal education, but he made up for it with a very intellectually curious mind. He was well-read by the pitiful standards of the Guatemalan officers and projected the image of a “good fellow” who has some charisma. Major Francisco Arana’s death was the pivotal event of the Guatemalan Revolution. His death opened the doors to the election of Jacobo Arbenz who would later implement Guatemala’s first Agrarian Reform. Arbenz would then be overthrown by the United States in June 1954, thus ending the Revolution.

On October 20, 1944, the Guatemalan Revolution
Guatemalan Revolution
The Guatemalan Revolution refers to the period in Guatemala between the 1944 overthrow of the dictator Jorge Ubico and the 1954 coup d'etat that removed President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán from power....

 began with the overthrow of Federico Ponce. His rule was replaced by a three-man junta
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....

. The junta consisted of Major Arana, Captain Arbenz, and an upper class civilian by the name of Jorge Toriello. However, Arana’s emergence as one of the leaders was termed as an “accident” for he joined the plot only in the later stages. The junta proposed free elections for a constituent assembly, a Congress, and a president.

In 1945, the Pacto del Barranco (Pact of the Ravine), was arranged between Arana and PAR, the most popular political party at the time. This pact was formed because of an accident that President Arevalo was involved in. He accidentally drove his car into a deep ravine which rendered him invalid for a long period of time. Afraid that Arana might take advantage of the situation, PAR promised to support his candidacy in the November 1950 presidential elections in exchange for his refrain from a military coup. This agreement is known to a very few people in Guatemala; not even the American Embassy knew about this. It explained Arana’s unwillingness to join any movement against Arevalo. The truth was that he did not have any desire for a military coup. He wanted to be known as the democratic hero of the uprising against Ponce and he believed that the Pacto del Barranco would guarantee his position as a president elected by an admiring populace, not a usurper ruling through force.
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