Indirect presidential elections were held in Guatemala on 17 December 1930. After suffering a stroke, incumbent president Lázaro Chacón resigned on 12 December 1930, after which Baudilio Palma became acting president. However, on 16 December general Manuel María Orellana Contreras led a coup that forced Palma to resign. The following day Congress elected Orellana Contreras as provisional president.[2][3][4]
However, given the large investments that American companies had in Guatemala, especially the United Fruit Company, the United States Secretary of State Henry Stimson publicly denounced Orellana as an unconstitutional leader and demanded his removal. Realizing that the Americans would not recognize his government, Orellana resigned on 29 December,[5][6] leading to another election in which José María Reina Andrade was elected. Eventually, general Jorge Ubico came into power in 1931, and ruled Guatemala with a tight grip until he was deposed on 1 July 1944; during his rule, the power and influence of the United Fruit Company strengthened in Guatemala.[7]
References
- ^ "El general Manuel María Orellana presidente de la República". Nuestro Diario (in Spanish). Guatemala. 18 December 1930.
- ^ "Wrong horse No. 2". Time magazine. United States. 1930. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013.
- ^ "We are not amused". Time magazine. United States. 1931. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008.
- ^ "Died. General Lazaro Chacon, 56, President of Guatemala". Time magazine. United States. 1931. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008.
- ^ Dosal 1993, p. 176.
- ^ Jones, Geoffrey. The octopus and the generals : the United Fruit Company in Guatemala. OCLC 1126402791.
- ^ Dosal 1993, pp. 182–196.
Bibliography
- Dosal, Paul J. (1993). Doing business with the dictators: a political history of United Fruit in Guatemala, 1899-1944. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources.
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