Francisco Javier Arana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Francisco Javier Arana
Chief of the Armed Forces
In office 15 March 1945 – 18 July 1949
President	Juan José Arévalo
Minister	Jacobo Árbenz
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Carlos Paz Tejada
Head of State and Government of Guatemala
In office 20 October 1944 – 15 March 1945 Serving with Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán and Jorge Toriello
Preceded by	Federico Ponce Vaides
Succeeded by	Juan José Arévalo
Acting Minister of Defense
In office 20 October 1944 – 15 March 1945
Preceded by	David Corado
Succeeded by	Jacobo Árbenz
Personal details
Born	(1905-12-03)3 December 1905 Villa Canales, Guatemala
Died	18 July 1949(1949-07-18) (aged 43)
Nationality	Guatemalan
Occupation	Military officer
Known for	Leading the revolutionary junta ruling Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945

Francisco Javier Arana Castro (3 December 1905 – 18 July 1949) was an important military leader in Guatemala. He was one of three people who led a special ruling group, called a junta, in Guatemala. This junta governed the country from October 1944 to March 1945. This period was at the start of the Guatemalan Revolution.

Arana was a major in the Guatemalan army under the dictator Jorge Ubico. He joined forces with other army members to remove Ubico's replacement, Federico Ponce Vaides. Arana led the three-person junta that helped Guatemala move towards a democratic government. However, he was not keen on letting the elected President, Juan José Arévalo, take office in 1945. Arana then became the Chief of the Armed Forces in the new government. He held this powerful position until 1949. On July 18, 1949, he died in a conflict with people who supported the Arévalo government. This happened after he had threatened to take over the government by force.

Early Life and Background

Francisco Javier Arana Castro was born on December 3, 1905, in Villa Canales, Guatemala. His parents, Ángel María Arana and Margarita Castro, came from a family that was not rich or poor. He had both Spanish and Indigenous family roots. His Indigenous heritage was more noticeable in his appearance.

Arana did not go to a formal school. However, he read a lot and was considered smart and clever by people who knew him. They also described him as a friendly and charming person. He was not a great public speaker. But he was very good at convincing people in private conversations. In 1946, during the Guatemalan Revolution, an official from the United States embassy said Arana's political views were nationalist. This meant he strongly supported his own country. The official also noted he was somewhat friendly towards the United States.

The October Revolution

In June 1944, many public protests led to the dictator Jorge Ubico stepping down. Ubico then named Federico Ponce Vaides to lead a three-person ruling group, or junta. This group was meant to run the temporary government. A few days later, Ponce Vaides convinced the Congress to make him interim president. Ponce promised to hold free elections soon. However, he continued Ubico's policy of stopping protests. This made more people want an armed revolution. By this time, the Guatemalan Army was unhappy with the junta. Some progressive army members began planning to overthrow the government.

Arana joined this plan later on. The plot was first led by Jacobo Árbenz and Aldana Sandoval. But Arana was the commander of the Guardia de Honor. This gave him a lot of power within the army. Sandoval managed to convince Arana to join the coup in its final stages. On October 19, Arana and Árbenz started their uprising against Ponce Vaides' government. The next day, other parts of the army and regular citizens joined them.

At first, the revolutionaries were losing the fight. But after asking for help, many union members and students joined them. They eventually defeated the police and army groups loyal to Ponce Vaides. On October 20, Ponce Vaides gave up without any conditions. Both Arana and Árbenz fought bravely in the uprising. Arana, Árbenz, and Jorge Toriello then became members of a new three-person ruling junta. Arana, who was a Major and the highest-ranking army officer, became the senior member of this group.

Arana did not want to give power to a civilian government. He tried to convince Árbenz and Toriello to delay the election. After Juan José Arévalo was elected President in December 1944, Arana asked them to say the election results were not valid. Árbenz and Toriello insisted that Arévalo should take power. Arana reluctantly agreed, but only if his position as commander of the military was not challenged. Arévalo had to agree to this. So, the new Constitution of Guatemala in 1945 created a powerful new role: "Commander of the Armed Forces." This job was even stronger than that of the defense minister. The person in this role could only be removed by Congress, and only if they broke the law. When Arévalo became President, Arana took on this new position. Árbenz became the defense minister.

Chief of the Armed Forces

After Arana took his new and powerful job, an American embassy official wrote that Arana seemed like someone who might try to become a dictator. On December 16, 1945, President Arévalo was badly hurt in a car accident. He could not do his job for a while. Leaders of the Revolutionary Action Party (PAR), which supported the government, worried Arana would use this chance to take over. A few leaders met with Arana and made a secret agreement with him. This deal became known as the Pacto del Barranco (Pact of the Ravine).

Arana agreed not to seize power with the military. In return, the PAR agreed to support Arana's bid for president in the next election in November 1950. This promise was written down. However, it was kept secret. The American embassy only found out about it in 1947. Arévalo recovered quickly, but he was forced to support the agreement.

The Guatemalan Revolution did not make Guatemala fully democratic. For example, women who could not read or write still could not vote. However, it brought many important changes for workers. The parties that supported Arévalo's government were led by young people from the middle class. They supported these changes. These reforms worried the wealthy landowners in Guatemala. They looked for a political leader who would support their interests. So, many rich Guatemalans began to encourage Arana to oppose Arévalo's worker reforms. Arana started to complain publicly about the labor changes. But he did not take any direct action against Arévalo. In the 1948 election for Congress, he supported several candidates who were against Arévalo. However, none of them won a seat in Congress.

After the election loss, Arana kept trying to gain support from elected officials. He used threats and persuasion. He spoke with José Manuel Fortuny, a leftist leader in the PAR. Fortuny later said that Arana asked him, "Why don't you and your friends like me? I'm not a man of the right." Fortuny replied, "We are not against you. We appreciate your role in the revolt against Ponce. It's just that you don't support workers." By 1949, the National Renovation Party and the PAR were openly against Arana. A small group from the Popular Liberation Front (FPL) supported him. But this group was strongly defeated at the FPL party meeting in 1949. As a result, they broke away to support Arana. The leftist parties decided to support Árbenz instead. They believed only a military officer could defeat Arana. In 1947, Arana had demanded that some labor leaders be sent out of the country. Árbenz openly disagreed with Arana. Arana's involvement reduced the number of people who were deported.

Death of Francisco Arana

To run for president, the constitution said Arana had to leave his military job by May 1950. His replacement would be chosen by Congress from a list given by the Consejo Superior de la Defensa (CSD). Elections for the CSD were set for July 1949. The months before this election were filled with intense arguments. Arana's supporters tried to control the election process. They wanted the election to be watched by regional commanders loyal to Arana. They did not want observers sent from the central government. Arana called an urgent meeting of the CSD just before the election. No agreement was reached there. But a few days later, Arana's supporters suddenly agreed to the demands of Árbenz's supporters.

On July 16, 1949, Arana gave President Arévalo a final demand. He insisted that all of Árbenz's supporters be removed from the government and the military. He threatened to take over the government if his demands were not met. Arévalo told Árbenz and other progressive leaders about this demand. They all agreed that Arana should be sent out of the country. A secret meeting of a special committee of Congress voted to remove Arana from his position. The President of Cuba, Carlos Prío Socarrás, agreed to let Arana live in Cuba.

Two days later, Arévalo and Arana had another meeting. Arévalo later said that Arana was very threatening and rude during this meeting. On his way back, Arana's group of cars was stopped by a small force led by Árbenz. A conflict broke out, and three men died, including Arana. Arana's supporters in the military started an uprising. But they had no clear leader. By the next day, the rebels asked to talk about a peaceful solution. This attempt to take over the government resulted in about 150 deaths and 200 injuries. Many of Arana's supporters, including Carlos Castillo Armas, were sent out of the country. The full details of the incident were not made public.

In a speech on July 21, Arévalo spoke about Arana's death. He suggested that Arana had considered working with people who were against Arévalo. But Arévalo said Arana eventually refused to overthrow the government. He implied Arana was killed because he refused. Arévalo did not name the killers. But he suggested they were members of the conservative opposition. He announced five days of national mourning to honor Arana. Before giving this speech, Arévalo shared the text with his ministers. Árbenz and a few others disagreed with the speech's message. They suggested telling the whole truth. However, most of the ministers voted against them. Historian Piero Gleijeses said that if Arana had tried to take over without giving an ultimatum, he probably would have succeeded. But his overconfidence in his control of the military, and his wish to take power legally, caused his plan to fail before it truly began. Gleijeses also stated that Árbenz probably had orders to capture Arana, not to kill him.

See also

In Spanish: Francisco Javier Arana para niños