The Agricultural Regulation from 1954 to 1996 in Guatemala

The unequal distribution of land in Guatemala dates back to the time of the
the Spanish conquest from the early 16th century to the late 20th century has led to
several attempts at agrarian reform. Despite numerous legislative actions and a
constant debate since the October Revolution of 1944, Guatemala is still
one of the countries in America where the ownership of arable land is more
concentrated.
The issue of land tenure has generated a permanent conflict throughout
the history of Guatemala between the landowning oligarchy and the dispossessed peasants
of arable land and members of indigenous communities, a conflict that extended to the
government reforms from the years 1944-1954. Tragic events have occurred throughout
for centuries due to this issue of land. The Spanish conquerors
they subjugated the natives of the region by forcing them to work according to their designs
lands they once owned. During the times following independence of
Guatemala, the criollo elite continued with this regime and the social problem of the peasant.
impoverished and without suitable land for cultivation remains heated to the present.
The most serious attempt made in Guatemala to solve the problem
Agrarian reform, including its social aspect, occurred in June 1952, when the president
Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán promulgated decree 900 of the Agrarian Reform. This act in a
chocolate begins with the strong opposition of the General Association of Farmers (AGA),
organization created to serve the interests of the most prominent landowners, the
financiers in Guatemalan terms and coffee producers in particular.
His modus operandi consisted of keeping his associates informed about matters
professionals and politicians, information that was distributed through the publication Bulletin
from the General Association of Farmers (Bulletin). As a whole, the AGA grouped together the
most representative employers of the country and constituted a powerful force of pressure
politics.
Decree 900 represented the peak of the decade, which extended from the Revolution of
October 1944 until Árbenz was overthrown in 1954, during which the attitude of the
AGA regarding the agrarian reform plan underwent significant changes in response to the
popular acceptance of the government's efforts to reform agriculture.
The purpose of this work is to study the opinions and attitudes of the AGA, making
inferences from their own publications not only regarding decree 900 but also to
global problem of agrarian reform in Guatemala during the crucial period of the
October Revolution. It does not extend to studying the agrarian question with all its
facets. In order to demonstrate the evolution of these viewpoints and their significance
within the economic development of Guatemala, it is necessary to study the movement to
change to the agricultural sector and to the association within the perspective of the development of a
Land reform policy in response to the Constitution of Guatemala of 1945.
Constitution approved by the Constituent Congress drafted in the spirit of the
The October Revolution laid the foundations and established the obligation to implement changes.
large-scale socio-economic. Two articles directly addressed the issue
Article No. 91: The state recognizes the existence of private property and the
guarantees in its social function without more limitations than those determined by the law, by
reasons of necessity, public utility or national interest." Article No. 92: Property
Private property may be expropriated with prior compensation to meet a need.
public, utility or social interest that has been legally verified.
Despite the unequal distribution of land and an outdated tradition of exploitation
It seemed that there was little concern for the issue of reform until 1944. The
land tenure system and cultivation methods in densely populated areas
Indigenous people had not undergone significant changes since the liberal reforms of the century.
past. Just like in the time of the conquest, the Guatemalan Indians inhabit
mainly the mountains, an area rich in volcanic soil with an altitude of 1,000 to 3,000
metros. Since it gained independence, Guatemala has not modified its system of
agricultural production that includes estates and plantations of large areas,
along with small plots for subsistence for the large indigenous population.
The large estates, 'fincas' in Guatemala, depend on the contribution of labor from the
descendants of the conquered Indians, poorly paid work and often forced. The
the commercial aspect of these estates is oriented towards the external market and by
Consequently, an export-oriented mentality has developed among the landowners.
Decisions then depended on the industrialized nations, particularly on Great
Britain and later from Germany and the United States.
The neo and semi-pedal estates characterized the coffee growing region along with the
abundance of absent landlords and subsistence agriculture among the Maya-Quiche
and other peoples descended from the Maya. Although these lands were suitable
for a wide variety of crops, small farmers and agricultural workers
they were fed with a monotonous and deficient diet. The big farmers exploited
to its workers in a manner similar to the feudal system.
In the summer of 1944, what seemed to be a typical coup d'état overthrew the government of
dictator General Jorge Ubico, who governed Guatemala since 1931. The General
Federico Ponce led a new military government that survived less than four
months. Ponce experienced a very different uprising that was dedicated to accelerating the
process of social change and modernization, a phenomenon known as the Revolution of
October. This new faction did not represent the old elite. A triumvirate of
relatively young individuals, Major Francisco Arana, Captain Jacobo Árbenz
Guzmán and Jorge Toriello Garrido, a young and prestigious businessman, formed
a meeting under which a president was elected and a constitutional government was established.
In 1945, Guatemalans voted in the first free election in two decades and elected
the person who would implement the October Revolution according to what was established by the
new constitution. Voters chose Dr. Juan José Arévalo, professor
university student, philosopher, and known opponent of the dictator Ubico who, while he was in
in political exile, he served as a teacher at the National University of Tucumán and
in other universities in Argentina. Arévalo was the first elected civil president by
popular vote that managed to complete its term in the entire history of Guatemala.
I develop the concept of the "New Guatemala" to be structured within what I called
spiritual socialism. Support for the democratic system, social justice, integration of
the indigenous peoples to national life and economic development. A new one was developed
constitution that incorporated these concepts and was adopted in March 1945.
An important aspect of this new constitution was the proposed agrarian reform,
considered a necessity for the success of Arévalo's mission and the Revolution
of October. The foundations of this reform called for the desirable economic development by
social and political reasons; economic development only takes place in a country
agricultural when agricultural production increases; the government of the Revolution of
October wishes to incorporate the entire population into national, political, and economic life;
Current practices in agriculture are inefficient and misuse resources.
humans; the large estates result in the existence of uncultivated land still
in the most populated areas and restrict development and production.
The issue of agrarian reform was not just a problem of Guatemala but of
all of Latin America. The issue was brought to light in different periods
historical both during the time of independence and in the colonial period and I came to
provoke numerous popular uprisings. With the advent of the Cold War,
issue around new dimensions. This was skillfully presented by Salvador de Madariaga
who expressed that in all the countries of Latin America there was the problem of
land tenure that cried out to be resolved. He stated that this circumstance was
dangerous because it kept large sectors of the population in a state of dissatisfaction
that each day they became more aware of their quality as dispossessed and abandoned and nurtured
to the urban proletariat with masses of rootless men ready to follow any leadership
demagogic.
The issue of agrarian reform was a matter of vital interest for a group that was revived with the
fall of Ubico. During his regime, he had dissolved the Confederation of Associations
Agricultural of the Republic by order of the executive power dated February 25, 1933.
On June 11, 1944, during the turbulent period that preceded the fall of the dictator,
the export-oriented farmers of the country joined together again under the
General Association of Farmers (AGA), an organization that did not take long to
to become the leading spokesperson for the most prominent group of landowners, group of
high pressure power rivaled only by the military, the emerging unions and the
United Fruit Company (UFCO) during the period we are discussing.

The AGA was a private organization that represented the landowners of Guatemala.
who traditionally dominated the country politically, economically, and socially. Their
position, still strong today, was later tempered by the emergence of the class of the
great businessmen and their executives emerged in the process of
industrialization accelerated by the stimulus of the Central American Common Market and the
commercial industrial expansion of the latest generation.
As an economic complex with political influence, the AGA shared many of the
interests of the only civil group with similar power, the UFCO.

UFCO remained somewhat outside the Guatemalan economy due to being

foreign company and for this same reason it clashes head-on with the national trend
with the list of the October Revolution. The AGA, on the other hand, although it was not considered
sympathizer of you, she was not seen as entirely an enemy of the revolution either. Her voice
remained deserving of respect and was heard during the turbulent and promising decade
from 1944 to 1954. The AGA demonstrated the caliber of its voice, its power and its relationship with the
farm workers when the constituent assembly of 1945 was achieved
the partial payment in kind to the workers will be approved. This constitutionalized the old and
pernicious habit of considering workers' food as part of their salary.
The AGA was an extremely significant group within the economic framework of
Guatemala. Its members were, are, and may possibly continue to be in the future the elite.
of Guatemalan society. This group is characterized by being educated, well-traveled, and of high
financial power, having established the banking system of the country that I manage with everything
freedom until the advent of Arevalo's government. The point up to which I managed the
The financial apparatus of Guatemala can be discussed but its great influence is undeniable.
influence based on a prominent social position that provides unconditional support to its
political and economic aspirations. This select group enjoys the highest power of
accumulation of capital in the country, capital that comes from exports and
marketing of coffee and other crops to the United States and Europe.
During the first stage of the revolution, there was a radical change in attitude within the
AGA that encouraged its members to embrace the perspective of change and progress. The
Coffee growers experienced the typical air of change of the time and were participants
assets of the modernization process. Significant investments were made in the nascent
industry, in commerce and especially in the production of agricultural products not
traditional activities such as livestock and cotton for export. This change had
mainly the purpose of countering the growing influence of the movement
revolutionary and particularly, the communist threat. However, he opposed
definitely to any collectivization of agriculture and to the redistribution or expropriation of
private property.
During the study period, the International Development Bank for Reconstruction and
Development's Commission to Guatemala published a report in 1951 titled Economic
Development in Guatemala recommended promoting the growth of production.
coffee-growing and as a long-term policy goal, adapt the agriculture of the area
coffee grower to the new requirements of a progressive economy. The report also
he stated that coffee production was the activity that could provide the funding
necessary not only for the development of agriculture but also for that of other sectors
of the economy. Without the tacit approval of the AGA, coffee production would not be
available to respond to these recommendations.
Presidents Arévalo and Árbenz felt compelled to carry out structural reforms.
in the agricultural sector according to the provisions of the 1945 Constitution. Article 90 recognized
that private property has a social function. Article 91 prohibited large estates and
It specified that the law would take care of its dissolution and prevent its growth.
Article 92 allowed for the expropriation of private property with prior compensation.
owners. Article 94 supported the establishment of cooperatives and efforts
collective agricultural. These constitutional provisions leave no doubt about the intention
existing in Guatemala during this revolutionary decade of reforming agriculture. Arévalo and
Árbenz didn't need to look beyond the new constitution to find a clear
mandate to action.
The AGA was forced to seriously consider this issue. Recently
reorganized, I had to take a leadership position at this crucial stage as
As a group of prestige and power, it could exert its political influence in a coherent manner.
The ideas expressed by the AGA seemed to show a certain acceptance of the
perspective of agrarian reform as long as private property was respected and placed
emphasis on increasing production. The AGA's approach differed from that of the
October Revolution as it emphasized productivity more than in the
social aspect of the agricultural sector. The General Association of Farmers against the
Reform. Despite certain transpositions, this flow of events can
be divided into chronological periods of certain validity. There are some characteristics
manifestos that outline each period and provide coherence. To establish this division
In stages, emphasis will be placed on its difference more than on its transposition.
Consequently, those periods will appear more clearly delineated than they were.
in reality. It is to be expected that in this way the evolution of the
response of the AGA to the issue of the reform advocated by the governments of Arévalo and
Árbenz.
During the early years of Arévalo's government, the AGA showed a strange
contempt for the issue of land reform. It was presented in its Bulletin as a
crazy idea and worthy of all suspicion since it violated the right to property
private. The AGA was based on the premise that the reform would consist solely of the division
from the land through the restructuring of the land tenure system in a
integral.
This period is perfectly summarized in an editorial titled 'Agrarian Reform.'
It says that 'something called agrarian reform is being promoted by a few.'
demagogues and in some newspapers and brochures." The editorialist added that the concept was

remote that had nothing true about it. The editorial denied the validity of the foundations of the
reform and emphasized the failure of the agrarian reform where it had been placed in
practice, particularly in Mexico. The agrarian policy in this country had only served
to create smallholdings and perpetuate poverty, according to this spokesperson from the AGA.

In another editorial, "Demagogic Fallacy", the shout of "the land for those who work it" is
called "ridiculous", the slogan was attributed to "demagogic Marxists". The publisher
I continued saying that it was not just muscle that enabled production; the
intelligence and the work of the owners, their attitude and their knowledge of the use of
more advanced methods were of paramount importance. The farmers did not persist
in their skepticism. They soon officially recognized in their Bulletin that the movement
Towards change was a reality worthy of recognition and even of being co-opted. This
The second stage began in early 1947 when it started to be admitted with some
resistance the existence of an agrarian problem.
From its perspective, the AGA defined the problem as a matter of production.
without another dimension and did not offer any recommendations to promote the growth of the
agricultural production. It only reiterated the basic conviction of its members that the
land should remain in the hands of the most fit, that is, themselves. They had a
negative attitude aimed at maintaining the status quo. One editorial after another reiterated its
position on the "true agrarian problem" and dismissed any attempt at reform as
product of demagogues and agitators "who created the problem they were trying to address themselves
to resolve by filling the heads of the peasants with false solutions." The focus of
agitation was mainly attributed to the Guatemalan Workers' Confederation,
but both the Arévalo government and those who advocated for reforms as well
they were frequent targets of attacks by the Bulletin.
Despite this conception of the 'true agrarian problem', the AGA did not try to
to promote a reform based on its own premises. Rather, it was concerned about
to find an elaborate network of negative postulates to demonstrate that possession of
the earth was not to suffer any change. The real question was whether the earth was or
uncultivated and not in who was its owner or in the amount of land that belonged to them
respective holder.
The AGA's struggle for the reform issue became another aspect of the war.
between "communism and democracy." The association was considered patriotic and
defender the free market economy and political freedom, whose duty was
defend the constitution and the national tradition based on the inviolability of property
private. Within this interpretation of the national reality, those who promulgated
the redistribution of the land were labeled as unpatriotic, sympathizers of
international communism. By taking this stance, the AGA ignored the mandate
constitutional referred to agrarian reform and to the article that defined "social function". To
at the same time that the landowners were becoming defenders of the constitution, they passed
overlook the constitutional imperatives to carry out the necessary reforms to improve
the economic and social conditions of agriculture.

The congress, however, was mindful of this phase of the constitutional mandate and of the
growing popularity of the idea of a reform. In June 1949, Congress established
a committee to study the issue and draft a reform bill, headed by
by Clemente Marroquín Rojas, a prominent intellectual and editor of the newspaper La Hora. The
The bulletin then spoke in pejorative terms against Marroquín Rojas and the group.
in charge.
The AGA also took a position against the initiative of the Arévalo government that
ordered the redistribution of confiscated land from enemy foreigners, in his
majority Germans, during the Second World War and subsequently put in
hands of managers appointed by the government. Arévalo launched a program
of distributing said lands among the peasants as private property. In
this way the government set out to carry out an attempt at agrarian reform that did not
it clashed head-on with the particular interests of the landowners, as it avoided the
implementation of a plan among the landowners of Guatemala. The AGA however,
I affirm that the land should be subject to public auction ignoring the social aspect of it.
problem.
In this new phase of the evolution of its policy, the AGA placed special emphasis on two
themes: (1) technical development that suffers delays if there is no security environment and
trust; and (2) a possible beneficial solution to the agricultural problem by means of the
colonization of uninhabited hot regions with farmers from the temperate land,
which would tend to limit the political opportunists who had given rise to the problem, not
it would disorganize the existing production and eliminate the problem of smallholdings that
It would arise from a redistribution of the highlands already under cultivation.

The meaning of these recommendations lay not only in their practical aspect but
also in that they represented a concession by the big landowners. The AGA
I recognized the great need of the indigenous population to have access to land cultivation.
This twist of the issue suggests that the landowners' association felt threatened.
to the point of having to acknowledge that the inevitable moment had come to accept certain
independence on the part of the peasantry. It was to be expected that the new owners
they would form an important economic and political group by freeing themselves from their dependence
geographical and psychological of the traditional elite who could speculate on a possible
labor shortage as a side effect of change. Small landowners
they would surely form a particularly autonomous group by being concentrated in areas
where they were numerically dominant and being the first settlers, they would structure
the new communities in their own way.
In its attempt to create 'an appropriate atmosphere', the AGA stated that the environment
The political agitation in itself was uneconomical. The idea of change ceased to be synonymous.
of political disorder and the AGA demonstrated a certain flexibility in its ideology, but
remained unwavering in her stance as an unconditional defender of property
private.
At the end of 1950, the AGA maintained a policy of constructive cooperation that continued
until the enactment of the agrarian law. Colonel Jacobo Árbenz had been elected
president within the framework of a platform that promised the implementation of article 91
from the Constitution of 1945; that is, action regarding the agrarian problem. The AGA
he joined his voice with that of the elected president in a call to all sectors of the population
with the common purpose of achieving three basic objectives: (1) the cooperation of all
sectors to execute the national task, (2) the development of all possible aspects
of the economy and put the nation on the path to progress, and (3) patriotic collaboration
in the technical and political aspects to improve the standard of living of farmers and the
workers and ensure the position of the investors.
The AGA, with the advent of the new administration, sought a way to lean the
process of change towards the line that would least contradict its interests. It acknowledged that it
important changes had been made during Arévalo's government and that Árbenz
had the intention of accelerating the economic and social transformation process. The
true defense of the interests of its members was no longer to totally ignore the
movement towards agrarian reform as in previous years. This is how it was declared in
in his favor and acknowledged the need to redistribute land to expand the areas under cultivation
and fully incorporate farmers into the economic and national life of the country.
The questioning about land redistribution was directed more at its form than at its
essence. He made an effort to carry out the reform in a patriotic manner within
the confines of the constitution. The group of most prominent leaders tried through the
TO strip the communists of their leadership position regarding this issue,
who were exposed as opposed to a 'democratic agrarian reform', and how
promoters of a collectivization that turned the Guatemalan people into 'slaves of
state". The events that followed the fall of Árbenz clearly indicate that the
The softening of the AGA was, above all, a tactic that was adjusted to the
circumstances.
In March 1951, the AGA formally presented to the president of the Republic its
recommendations regarding agrarian law and committed to cooperating in the process of
formulate it and put it into practice. By then, the AGA had waited too long. No
not only had I lost control over the initiative of the project, but also it
had lost within the political field.
The evolution towards a progressively shrewder agrarian policy by the ruling class
from Guatemala, it was due to the fact that he warned that the movement toward reform was inevitable and
that the radicalization of its policy was imminent. Following the defeat of the pro faction
After his assassination in 1949, Jacobo Árbenz and his collaborators strengthened
their stance and gained greater influence within the forces of the October Revolution,
a fact that the AGA did not fail to consider in its stance.
After Árbenz's election in 1950, the government took a more decisive stance.
regarding the change and restructuring of Guatemalan society. The Party
Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT) of communist orientation, provided support to Árbenz.
unconditional. However, I continue to emphasize the urgency of implementing a rapid
change and particularly a radical reform of the countryside that would neutralize the recognized
influence of the UFCO and the coffee growers. Decree 900, formulated by the commission
designated by the president, would have led the agricultural sector to a partial collectivization had
has been fully implemented. Congress passed the decree without intervention
some of the AGA in June 1952 and was received by the association with violence
express rejection as stated in the Bulletin. The AGA did not cease to express its disagreement with
articles and brochures that I occasionally distributed throughout the Árbenz regime
until its overthrow on June 27, 1954. During this third period, the AGA
maintained that she was not initially opposed to the agrarian reform but rather to its
collectivization and I affirmed that the agrarian reform law was unconstitutional. It could be
conjecture that the AGA could have supported a change during this period as long as it
formulated within its principles. It would seem that, in June 1952, the association had
lost all hope of maintaining the status quo. The unsustainable nature of their position
In the early days of the October Revolution, it was dramatically demonstrated to its
members. Many estates were subject to the divisions stipulated by the government and the
dominance over its pawns in its agricultural production establishments became each
more difficult. The AGA as a power group had lost influence among the military.
And in June 1952, it faced a situation where its interests were most threatened.
profound.
Contemplating the problem from the perspective of the AGA, spokesperson and advocate of the
landowners of Guatemala, there was little that could have prevented them from being subjected to
a land reform that did not have his support. His relief would not have come to
to materialize if the aid that the United States government provided to Colonel Carlos
Castillo Armas would not have been granted. If the process had remained limited to
internal field, the AGA would have been obliged to adjust to the new reality
of an agrarian sector in transformation with a much more dynamic peasantry
economically and politically. During the validity of decree 900, the landowners chose to
an action plan with two predominant elements. The first consisted of accepting with
reluctance to change proposed by the government while continuing to exert its influence. The
second, in providing cautious support to the 'coup plotters' and emphasizing the rhetoric that
he claimed that the agrarian reform as it was being carried out in Guatemala, constituted
an advance of international communism and, therefore, a threat to security
national of the United States and of all the Americas.
The AGA realized the need to make the most of the situation.
revolutionary government of the October Revolution. Its leaders warned that being
against the change in agriculture in the second half of the twentieth century, it was like declaring oneself
in favor of sin in Victorian England. It became imperative for the AGA and its
associates the need to support a significant change within the agricultural system. The elite
had recognized this factor and within its own terms, a spirit of
modernization was characterized by the promulgation of decree 900.
In this crucial juncture, external forces saved the association from a position of
danger vis-à-vis the government of Árbenz. The very future of the neofeudal land tenure system.
the land that sustained the existence of the latifundium was seriously called into question since
the promulgation of decree 900 that limited the size of land parcels and
I redistribute uncultivated land among dispossessed farmers. A significant increase.
the number of owners would have had the effect of transforming the future partner
economic of Guatemala and to decrease the political influence of the AGA. The threat that
the reform meant for the United Fruit Company, the perceived communist influence in
the Árbenz government and the implicit threat to the interests of government security
from the United States, urged the North American government not to intervene financially and
militarily against the continuity of Árbenz in the government.
One aspect of this new attitude towards agrarian reform became evident during the period
after the coup d'état of 1954 when the coffee growers strove to modernize
the production. What happened next indicates that there was a shift towards a change that
I meant a certain acceptance of the idea of the economic value of establishments.
private agricultural ones of smaller size, and the need to increase the use of
fertilizers to increase the harvest of the existing coffee plantations. It began to
sowing with a different technique brought from Hawaii and tested in Costa Rica, consisting of
in planting trees one closer to another. These innovative practices brought as
a greater productivity since behind the innovation was certainty
of the farmers that were working their land for their own benefit. They justified
before themselves and before others their right to property. I continue to argue that the
private property was the most convenient for the country's economy as it brought about
consequence greater productivity and diversification.
The AGA, however, did not produce a response suitable to the social aspect of the reform.
Agricultural. Its perspective remained within the outlook of the coffee grower and its adherence to the
reform in the development of the issue of the struggle of the rural class only with the limited
opening up new lands to be exploited in smaller-sized units. The
the interests of coffee growers were not different from those of others who produced for the
export
The association supported the new agrarian law, enacted by the regime of
Castillo Armas, the Agrarian Statute, which contained the following unacceptable conditions
to the AGA in 1946 but which was enthusiastically supported in 1956: (1) the establishment of
agricultural colonies on the Pacific coast that would be "private property" of small
farmers who would produce for the internal market; and (2) the possibility of 'donations'
by the large landowners who could cede those lands of the
which could be released without obstructing their production.
The effects of the Agrarian Statute are not considered in this study except for
to note that, although the AGA had its own agrarian policy, it had only emerged as
reaction to the alleged harmful actions of the governments of Arévalo and Árbenz and others
social groups. Starting in 1954, the concepts of the AGA managed to prevail in the
agrarian policy of Castillo Armas. This fact is mainly due to the intervention of
the United States that overthrew the Árbenz government and therefore the agrarian reform
with the consequent change of the armed forces that withdrew their support from the government
Constitutional of Árbenz and actively leaned towards Castillo Armas.
The significant changes in the agrarian system of Guatemala since 1954 reflect
more than anything the position that the AGA develops as a reaction to radical social policy
from the October Revolution. Starting in 1954, emphasis was placed on diversification, in
a greater production and in the increase of profit per unit of investment and not in the
social justice and in the claims of the peasantry.
The change in attitude of the AGA had been gradual since 1945. At least one year
after the promulgation of the Constitution of the October Revolution that promoted a
agrarian reform, the leaders of the AGA completely ignored the proposal. This attitude
that persisted for most of 1946 was clearly illustrated in the editorial of
his diary said that 'something called agrarian reform seems to be being promoted.'
They expected the movement to die at birth as it represented totally
alien to the Guatemalan reality according to the perspective of coffee growers.

In early 1947, with the reluctant admission of the existence of a movement to

agrarian reform, the real struggle began to determine the direction that the reform would take.
to drink. The AGA emphasized that the constitutional guarantees and the traditions of the nation
They should have been safeguarded by ignoring the constitutional imperative of change. The conflict
in its essence, seen by the AGA, placed the ideological rivals in an antagonistic situation
the cold war, the struggle was, in reality, between democracy and communism. The AGA
he wanted to present himself as a representative of Western democracy and tradition
Guatemalan, warning the people of the foreign threat of communism hidden in the
land reform. The Bulletin made references to the enormous skills of the
landowners in opposition to the limitations of the peasantry. The properties
agricultural lands had to remain intact for the well-being of the nation because if divided
the land, production would decline and misery would take hold of everyone.

In July 1949, a significant change took place when the AGA became a spokesperson for
internal colonization project. Its members had finally recognized the strength
of the movement and were willing to make political and economic changes that
could have resulted in the emergence of a new class of small farmers
independent. During this period, the need for security was also highlighted.
with trust among the farmers of the nation, who were being targeted by the
"Marxist demagogues." The agrarian reform was no longer feared for itself, at least
openly, and it was attempted to guide the change within the lines marked by their
own interests.
By the late 1950s, the attitudes of the AGA had solidified and a policy emerged.
which emphasized the constructive cooperation that could lead to a successful agrarian reform.
The imperative need for a change was recognized not only in the technological aspect but
also regarding the redistribution of land and the incorporation of the
farmers effectively contribute to the national economy. The AGA presented Árbenz with a
reform project that, it seems, was ignored. The law enacted in June of
1952, it was based on a draft that emerged from a congressional commission and that took
a more radical stance aimed at bringing about social change accompanied by a change
economic.
By staying behind the reform movement without intervening in time, the AGA lost its
leadership position within the movement. When Árbenz's government was overthrown
due to the invasion of Castillo Armas, the AGA did not revert its position to that of 1946 but to the
from 1950, recognizing the need for new techniques, diversification, and expansion,
showing little interest in changing the living conditions of the rural masses. The new
The political context that followed the American intervention against Árbenz contributed to
that the modernization plan of the AGA was more defensible.
In the subsequent decades, the social dimension of the issue has been demonstrated
agriculture, which the AGA acknowledged with reluctance in the early 1950s, remains without
to resolve. The problem has escalated compared to 1954 as expectations
that emerged in the revolutionary decade have not been extinguished even by progress
neither by economic means nor by military force.

Then, during the government of Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, the Decree was enacted and approved.
900 —the Agrarian Reform Law— on June 17, 1952, and the Reform Bank was created
Agrarian. Its purpose was to abolish serfdom and slavery. As well as to continue with
distribute idle and cultivable land to peasants who would work on them. The land
Embargoed properties were compensated to the owners with an indemnity.

With this, it was possible to distribute the equivalent of 20% of the total arable land.
Guatemala, benefiting more than 24% of the population. The demands and needs
of the Guatemalans were addressed with public policies, such as the system of
social security, the labor code, municipal and university autonomy.
Then a credit access and technical assistance policy was implemented.
worker. A literacy campaign was also promoted in rural areas.
But the application of that law abruptly ended on June 4, 1954 due to
foreign intervention. In the eyes of foreign investors, these were acts of a
communist government, which was hated at the time. So the forces
North Americans had a reaction in favor of a "struggle for democracy", which
culminated with the exile of Árbenz Guzmán.