Francisco Javier Arana

Who was Francisco Javier Arana?

Francisco Javier Arana was one of the three leaders of the revolutionary junta that ruled Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945.

Major Francisco Arana was the son of lower middle class parents of mixed Spanish and Indian blood. He lacked formal education, but he made up for it with an intellectually curious mind. He was well-read by the pitiful standards of the Guatemalan officers of his day and projected a charismatic image. Arana’s death was the pivotal event of the Guatemalan Revolution. His death opened the doors to the election of Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, who would later implement Guatemala’s first agrarian reform. Árbenz would then be overthrown by the United States in June 1954, thus ending the Revolution.

On 20 October 1944, the Guatemalan Revolution began with the overthrow of Federico Ponce. His rule was replaced by a three-man junta. The junta consisted of Major Arana, Captain Árbenz, and an upper-class civilian by the name of Jorge Toriello. However, Arana’s emergence as one of the leaders was termed as an “accident” for he joined the plot only in the later stages. The junta proposed free elections for a constituent assembly, a Congress, and a president.