Washington Unmakes Guatemala, 1954

by Matthew Ward, COHA Research Fellow

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Table of Contents

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Historical Background

2.1 Guatemala: Social, Political and Economic Conditions 1931–1944

2.2 The Revolution of 1944.

2.3 An Officer is Elected

2.4 The Wider War

2.5 The Beginnings of the End

2.6 La Liberación

2.7 Divisions Within Divisions

3. An Act in Defence of National Security?

3.1 Imperialism and Hegemony

3.2 The National Security Question

3.3 The Establishment of a Dictatorship of the Proletariat

3.4 Guatemalan Ties to Soviet Russia

3.5 Communist Penetration of Central America

3.6 Conclusion 58

4. Bureaucratic Politics and the Decision to Use Force

4.1 Stage One: PB Fortune

4.2 A New Perspective

4.3 Stage Two: PB Success

5. Conclusion

Appendix A: Timeline of Events

Appendix B: Persons of Note

Bibliography

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