Jacobo Árbenz

Jacobo Árbenz was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the country's president from 1951 to 1954. He is best known for implementing progressive reforms, including land redistribution to benefit poor farmers, which challenged the interests of the dominant United Fruit Company and other foreign corporations. His policies aimed to modernize Guatemala but faced strong opposition from the United States, which worried about his growing ties to communism. In 1954, a U.S.-backed coup ousted Árbenz, leading to decades of instability and conflict in Guatemala. His legacy remains complex, embodying the struggles between reform and foreign intervention.