Beginning of the Guatemalan Revolution

Date: October 19, 1944 • Location: Washington, United States

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1944–1954.

The Guatemalan Revolution began with a small group of army officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launching a coup against dictator Jorge Ubico.

The period in the history of Guatemala between the coups against Jorge Ubico in 1944 and Jacobo Árbenz in 1954 is known locally as the Revolution. It has also been called the Ten Years of Spring, highlighting the peak years of representative democracy in Guatemala from 1944 until the end of the civil war in 1996. It saw the implementation of social, political, and especially agrarian reforms that were influential across Latin America.