1944 Guatemalan presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Guatemala between 17 and 19 December 1944.[1] The October Revolution had overthrown Jorge Ubico, the American-backed dictator,[2] after which a junta composed of Francisco Javier Arana, Jacobo Árbenz and Jorge Toriello took power, and quickly announced presidential elections, as well as elections for a constitutional assembly.[3] The subsequent elections were broadly considered free and fair,[4] although only literate men were given the vote.[5] Unlike in similar historical situations, none of the junta members stood for election.[4] The front-runner was the university professor Juan José Arévalo, nominated by the National Renovation Party. His closest challenger was Adrián Recinos, whose campaign included a number of individuals identified with the Ubico regime.[4] The ballots were tallied on 19 December and Arévalo won in a landslide with 86.25% of the vote, receiving more than four times as many votes as the other candidates combined.[4] The Constitutional Assembly elections took place on 28–30 December, with the United Front of Arevalist Parties winning 50 of the 65 seats.

1944 Guatemalan presidential election

← 1931 17–19 December 1944 1950 →
 
Nominee Juan José Arévalo Adrián Recinos
Party FUPA FNDPDC
Popular vote 255,660 20,949
Percentage 86.25% 7.07%

Triumvirates before election

Árbenz, Arana, Toriello
Guatemalan Revolution

President-elect

Juan José Arévalo
FUPA

Results

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CandidatePartyVotes%
Juan José ArévaloUnited Front of Arevalist Parties255,66086.25
Adrián RecinosFND–PDC20,9497.07
Manuel María HerreraWorkers Republican-Democratic Party11,0623.73
Guillermo Flores AvendañoSocial Democratic Party8,2302.78
Teófilo Díaz MedranoDemocratic Constitutionalist Party3420.12
Bernardo Alvarado TelloPopular Liberation Front1150.04
Ovidio PivaralDemocratic Party220.01
Francisco Javier AranaPopular Liberation120.00
Clemente MarroquínNational Accord Party50.00
José Gregorio DíazNationalist Action Party50.00
Luis Cardoza y Aragón30.00
Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes20.00
Humberto Robles [es]20.00
Jorge Toriello GarridoCivic Union20.00
Julio BianchiCentral-American party10.00
Manuel GalichPopular Liberation Front10.00
Eugenio Silva PeñaSocial Democratic Party10.00
Total296,414100.00
Valid votes296,41498.00
Invalid/blank votes6,0422.00
Total votes302,456100.00
Registered voters/turnout310,00097.57
Source: Prensa Libre, Nohlen

References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p323 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ Stephen M. Streeter (2000) Managing the Counterrevolution: The United States and Guatemala, 1954-1961, pp12–13
  3. ^ Piero Gleijeses (1991) Shattered hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944-1954, pp28–29
  4. ^ a b c d Richard H. Immerman, (1982) The CIA in Guatemala: The Foreign Policy of Intervention, p45
  5. ^ Gleijeses, p36

Bibliography

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  • Villagrán Kramer, Francisco. Biografía política de Guatemala: años de guerra y años de paz. FLACSO-Guatemala, 2004.
  • Political handbook of the world 1946. New York, 1945.
  • Rodríguez de Ita, Guadalupe. 2003. La participación política en la primavera guatemalteca: una aproximación a la historia de los partidos durante el periodo 1944–1954. México: Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
  • El estado y los partidos politicos en Guatemala, 1944–1951. by José Campang Chang Published in 1992, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ([Guatemala])
  • Castillo, R. Geografía Electoral de Guatemala, Guatemala, INCEP, 1972.