The Army vs. Democracy
The legal structure of the army was enshrined in the 1945 Constitution, which created the "Superior Defense Council," a body composed of the Chief of the Armed Forces (a position elected by the Congress of the Republic), as well as the chiefs of the military zones, the chiefs of the barracks in Guatemala City, and appointed military personnel. When analyzing the structure and integration of the Superior Defense Council, it is evident that the aim was to create a body with full autonomy, even in relation to the authority of the president. One of the first laws of revolutionary legislation that was enacted, Decree 17, sanctioned by Article 156 of the Constitution, allowed for a significant increase in the army’s intervention in politics and national affairs, designating the army as “Army of the October Revolution.” This decree laid the legal foundation for the army’s full autonomy, protecting it even from "the whims of the president." The creation of the Superior Defense Council was so complex and varied that it not only facilitated the army’s intervention in politics, but its autonomy allowed it to make arbitrary decisions, question the decisions of the president, and block any interference by the government itself.
The CIA descides to overthrown a Government
During this decade, the political context on the world stage was growing increasingly complicated, particularly the Cold War tensions between the East and West. The Korean War was essentially a struggle between the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States. Even as Guatemala's military increased its participation in the political life of the nation, the army’s internal divisions deepened. This was primarily due to the deteriorating relationship with the United States, which had cut military assistance in 1952 after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that the government of Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán had been infiltrated by the communist party. The army found itself in a dilemma with few alternatives: defend the constitution and democracy or protect its own interests. This, then, became the pretext for the Guatemalan military, large landowners, and the American government to overthrow the democratically elected government. In October 1953, the CIA began implementing its efforts to topple the Árbenz administration via a covert operation code-named PBSuccess. On December 24, the Tegucigalpa Plan–a campaign to eradicate communism in Guatemala was signed, unifying the National Page 2 GHRC Liberation Movement (MLN). In May 1954, as the conspiracy plan advanced, the United States signed military aid treaties with Honduras and Nicaragua, countries where the military intervention against Guatemala was being prepared. With US Ambassador John Puerifoy pressuring the military to end the communist threat, the Army High Command decided that there was no other alternative but to force Árbenz out. President Árbenz, wishing to avoid bloodshed and hoping to preserve at least some of the democratic reforms that he had implemented, agreed to resign. On June 27, 1954, he went into exile, leaving Carlos Enrique Diaz, chief of the armed forces, in charge
Read the full article: Analyzing-the-Role-and-Ascent-to-Power-of-the-Military-in-Guatemala.pdf (ghrc-usa.org)
