Juan José Arévalo

The first two democratically held elections were won by nationalistic and reformist presidents. Progress and change is what the Guatemalans wanted as they sought to rid themselves of the poverty that plagued their country. Jacobo Arbenz succeeded Juan Jose Arevalo in 1950, and Arbenz would continue Arevalo’s socialist policies. These policies included land reforms that redistributed land to the indigenous population. The land that was redistributed was previously expropriated from foreign companies