Luis Arturo González López

Born in the town of Zacapa, González López studied law, and served as a judge in several cities.[1] He was a member of the Supreme Court for seven years from 1945 to 1951, before being removed: reports stated that we was removed due to pressure from the communist parties.[1] He was appointed Vice-President to Carlos Castillo Armas in 1957.[1] On 26 July 1957, Castillo Armas was shot dead in the Guatemalan capital by a member of the presidential guard.[2][3] González López held the position of "First Presidential Designate", and was sworn in as interim president on 27 July.[4]

Supporters of Castillo Armas were considering forming a military junta and seizing power, but were dissuaded by Edwin J. Sparks. the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala. The U.S. government preferred to preserve a facade of democracy, rather than have Guatemala revert to a blatant dictatorship.[5] Elections were held in October 1957, complicated by pressure from the U.S. government, the government of Dominica, and the army.[5]

The centrist Miguel Ortiz Passarelli won a plurality in these elections, but supporters of Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, who had also been a candidate in the election, rioted.[6][2] The Guatemalan government declared martial law for a period of 30 days. On 24 October, a group of 80 military officers marched into the Presidential palace and replaced González López with a three-person junta led by army Colonel Óscar Mendoza Azurdia.[6] New elections were held in January 1958. Ydígoras Fuentes comfortably won this election and seized power for himself soon after.[2]

Notes

Sources

• Cullather, Nicholas (1999). Secret History: The CIA's Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala 1952–54 (2nd ed.). Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-3311-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Luis Arturo González López". Encarta. Archived from the original on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2004.
• Streeter, Stephen M. (2000). Managing the counterrevolution: the United States and Guatemala, 1954–1961. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-89680-215-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)