Efraín Ríos Montt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
General
Efraín Ríos Montt
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| 26th President of Guatemala | |
| In office 23 March 1982 – 8 August 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Romeo Lucas García |
| Succeeded by | Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores |
| President of the Congress of Guatemala | |
| In office 14 January 2000 – 14 January 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Leonel Eliseo López Rodas |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Rolando Morales Chávez |
| In office 14 January 1995 – 14 January 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Arabella Castro Quiñónez |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Alberto García Regás |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
José Efraín Ríos Montt
16 June 1926 Huehuetenango, Guatemala |
| Died | 1 April 2018 (aged 91) Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Resting place | Cemetery of La Villa de Guadalupe, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Political party | Guatemalan Christian Democracy (1974), Guatemalan Republican Front (1989–2013) |
| Spouse |
María Teresa Sosa Ávila
(after 1953) |
| Children | 3 (including Zury Ríos Montt) |
| Profession | Military officer, educator |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Guatemala |
| Branch/service | Guatemalan Army |
| Years of service | 1950–77, 1982–83 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
José Efraín Ríos Montt (born June 16, 1926 – died April 1, 2018) was a military officer and politician from Guatemala. He served as the country's president from 1982 to 1983. His time as president was a very difficult period during the long Guatemalan Civil War. Under his leadership, the Guatemalan Army fought against rebel groups. There were also serious concerns and accusations about human rights during this time.
Ríos Montt was a professional army officer. He became a brigadier general and led the Guatemalan military academy. In 1974, he ran for president but lost in an election that many believed was unfair. Later, in 1978, he changed his religion and joined an Evangelical Christian church. In 1982, a group of younger military officers took control of the government. They chose Ríos Montt to lead a special group called a government junta. He ruled as a military leader for less than 17 months before another military leader took his place.
In 1989, Ríos Montt returned to politics. He led a new political party called the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG). He was elected to the Congress of Guatemala many times. He even served as the president of the Congress from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2004. A rule in the constitution stopped him from running for president again because of his role in the 1982 military takeover. However, a court later allowed him to run in 2003, but he came in third place and left politics. He returned to Congress in 2007, which gave him legal protection from lawsuits. This protection ended in 2012.
Contents
Early Life and Military Career
Efraín Ríos Montt was born in 1926 in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. He came from a large family that was not rich but not poor either. His father owned a shop, and his mother was a seamstress. His younger brother, Mario Enrique Ríos Montt, became a Catholic priest.
Ríos Montt wanted to join the army. He first tried to enter the Polytechnic School, which is Guatemala's military academy, but he was not accepted at first. He then joined the Guatemalan Army as a private soldier. In 1946, he was able to enter the Polytechnic School. He finished at the top of his class in 1950. He later taught at the school and received more training in the United States and Italy. From the beginning of his career, Ríos Montt was known as a very religious and disciplined person.
He became a brigadier general in 1972 and was briefly the Army's Chief of Staff in 1973. However, he was removed from this job after only three months. He was then sent to work at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, D.C. Some people believed he was not getting along with other military leaders.
Early Political Involvement
While in the US, Ríos Montt was asked by leaders of the Guatemalan Christian Democracy party to run for president. He was chosen to lead a group of parties that were against the government at the time.
1974 Presidential Election
Ríos Montt ran for president in the March 1974 elections. He was seen as an honest military man who could fight against corruption in the government. Many people believed that he won the most votes in the election.
However, the official results said that Ríos Montt lost. Many people thought these results were unfair and that the government had changed the votes. Since no candidate won a clear majority, the National Congress chose the winner. They picked the official candidate, General Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García.
Ríos Montt and his party accepted the results, fearing that protests could lead to more violence. After this, General Ríos Montt left Guatemala to work at the Guatemalan embassy in Madrid, Spain, until 1977.
Religious Change
Ríos Montt left the army and returned to Guatemala in 1977. In 1978, he left the Roman Catholic Church and joined an evangelical Protestant church called Iglesia El Verbo (Church of the Word). He became very active in his new church and taught religion at a school connected to it.
His conversion was an important event because Guatemala was traditionally a Catholic country. Ríos Montt later became friends with famous evangelical leaders in the US.
Time as President
1982 Military Takeover
By early 1982, the situation in Guatemala was getting worse. Rebel groups were gaining strength in the countryside. On March 7, 1982, the government's candidate won the presidential election, but all other parties said the results were unfair. A group of younger military officers then took over the government. They removed the current president and stopped the new one from taking office.
On March 23, this military takeover ended with a three-person military group taking charge. General Efraín Ríos Montt led this group. He was chosen because he was respected as a military academy director and a past presidential candidate. The US authorities were surprised by these events.
Many Guatemalans initially welcomed the 1982 takeover. Ríos Montt was known for his honesty and his ideas for improving the country. In April 1982, the US Ambassador said that Ríos Montt's takeover brought the Guatemalan government "out of the darkness and into the light." Ríos Montt promised to fight corruption and help the poor.
His Rule
The new government immediately declared martial law, which meant military rule. They also stopped the constitution and closed the legislature. They set up special courts to try criminals and political opponents. In April 1982, they launched a plan to end violence and teach people about Guatemalan nationalism. The government also increased its military efforts against the rebel groups.
On June 9, Ríos Montt became the sole head of state, commander of the armed forces, and minister of defense. He forced the other two members of the military group to resign. In August 1982, he created a new advisory group called the Council of State. This group included, for the first time, representatives from Guatemala's native population.
Ríos Montt started a campaign to stop corruption and improve Guatemalan society. His motto was "I don't steal, I don't lie, I don't abuse." He also gave regular TV speeches on Sunday afternoons. Many people in Guatemala liked his message, even after he left power.
Fighting the Rebels: "Rifles and Beans"
Violence increased in the countryside under the military's plan. This plan included a strategy called "Rifles and Beans." The "rifles" part involved organizing local groups called Civil Defense Patrols (PAC). These groups were made up of villagers, mostly native people, who patrolled their areas. They were meant to help the government and stop rebel activity. The "beans" part of the plan involved programs to improve services and resources for native villages. This was meant to connect better resources with cooperation with the government.
Ríos Montt's government offered a chance for rebels to stop fighting in June 1982. A month later, they declared a state of emergency, which limited political activities.
Critics said that Ríos Montt's strategy led to a "scorched earth" campaign against the native Maya people. This happened especially in the regions of Quiché, Huehuetenango, and Baja Verapaz. A 1999 report said that nearly 600 villages were destroyed. Tens of thousands of farmers fled to southern Mexico. A report in 1982 estimated that over 10,000 native Guatemalans and farmers were killed from March to July of that year. It also said that 100,000 villagers were forced to leave their homes.
However, others noted that the situation for rural people improved under Ríos Montt. They said that the violence became more organized and less random. Even some critics noted that Ríos Montt later had strong support in the areas most affected by the fighting in 1982-83.
Support from the US and Israel
In 1977, the US had stopped giving aid to Guatemala because of serious human rights problems. In 1981, the new US government allowed the sale of military supplies to Guatemala.
US President Ronald Reagan met with Efraín Ríos Montt in Honduras in December 1982. Ríos Montt told Reagan that his strategy was not "scorched earth" but "scorched Communists." He promised to work to bring back democracy. Reagan then said that Ríos Montt was "a man of great personal integrity."
The US government could not fully restore aid to Guatemala because of human rights concerns. However, they continued to sell helicopter parts to the Guatemalan military. Israel also continued to provide aid and training to Guatemala during Ríos Montt's government. In 1982, Ríos Montt said that his soldiers were trained by Israelis.
Removal from Power
By the end of 1982, Ríos Montt said that the war against the rebels was won. He announced elections for July 1984. However, he had upset many people in Guatemala. In March 1983, he refused a request from Pope John Paul II to spare six rebels who were sentenced to death. Many people were also embarrassed by his strong religious speeches on TV. The military leaders were unhappy because he promoted younger officers over more experienced ones. Many citizens were also unhappy when a new tax was introduced in August 1983.
One week later, on August 8, 1983, his own Minister of Defense, General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, overthrew him in a military takeover. Seven people were killed during this event.
The leaders of the 1983 takeover said that Ríos Montt's religious beliefs were threatening the separation of church and state. However, some historians believe the main reason he was removed was that he had stopped the flow of money and benefits to military officers and government officials.
Political violence continued in Guatemala after Ríos Montt was removed. It is estimated that many native farmers were forced from their homes. Ríos Montt's sister, Marta Elena Ríos de Rivas, was kidnapped in June 1983 by a rebel group. She was released in September after 119 days.
Later Political Career
Ríos Montt started the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) political party in 1989. He was very popular and many polls showed he was the favorite to win the 1990 election. However, he was stopped from running by the courts. A rule in the 1985 Constitution of Guatemala said that people who had been part of a military takeover could not become president. Ríos Montt argued that this rule should not apply to him.
In the 1990s, Ríos Montt had strong support across Guatemala, especially among the native Maya people in the areas that had seen the most violence during his presidency. They saw him as an honest military leader.
He served as a congressman for the FRG party from 1990 to 2004. In 1994, he was elected president of the Congress. He tried to run for president again in 1995 but was not allowed. Alfonso Portillo ran instead for the FRG and lost.
The Guatemalan Civil War officially ended in 1996 with peace agreements. In March 1999, US President Bill Clinton said that US support for military forces in Guatemala that caused violence was wrong.
Ríos Montt's FRG party did well in the 1999 Guatemalan general election. Their candidate, Alfonso Portillo, was elected president. The party also won most seats in Congress. Ríos Montt then served as president of Congress for four years, from 2000 to 2004.
President Portillo admitted that the Guatemalan government had been involved in human rights abuses over the past 20 years. This included two massacres that happened during Ríos Montt's time as president.
2003 Presidential Candidate
In May 2003, the FRG nominated Ríos Montt to run for president again. His candidacy was rejected by election officials and lower courts. However, on July 14, 2003, the Constitutional Court approved his candidacy. They said the rule in the 1985 Constitution did not apply to past events.
On July 20, the Supreme Court stopped Ríos Montt's campaign. They agreed to hear a complaint that he was not allowed to run. Ríos Montt said this was unfair and asked his supporters to protest. On July 24, thousands of FRG supporters protested in Guatemala City. They blocked traffic and marched towards the courts and newspapers. After two days, the protests ended when Ríos Montt asked them to go home.
After the protests, the Constitutional Court changed its decision, allowing Ríos Montt to run. However, the protests hurt his popularity. Support for him also dropped because of concerns about corruption in the government led by his party. In the November 9, 2003, election, Ríos Montt received 19.3% of the vote. He came in third place and his time in Congress also ended.
In March 2004, a court ordered that Ríos Montt could not leave the country while they decided if he should face charges related to the protests. In January 2006, some charges against him were dropped.
Death
Ríos Montt died from a heart attack at his home in Guatemala City on April 1, 2018. He was 91 years old. The president of Guatemala at the time, Jimmy Morales, shared his condolences after Ríos Montt's death.
In Media and Popular Culture
Pamela Yates directed When the Mountains Tremble (1983), a documentary film about the war in Guatemala. Parts of this film were used as evidence in a court case against Efraín Ríos Montt.
Granito: How to Nail a Dictator (2011) is another film by Pamela Yates that follows up on When the Mountains Tremble.
The University of Southern California's Shoah Foundation is studying the Guatemalan civil wars. They have recorded hundreds of interviews with people who survived.
The 2019 Guatemalan horror film La Llorona has a character named Enrique Monteverde, who is based on Ríos Montt.
See also
In Spanish: Efraín Ríos Montt para niños
