Juan Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (14 September 1913 – 27 January 1971) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the 25th President of Guatemala. He was Minister of National Defense from 1944 to 1950, and the second democratically elected President of Guatemala, from 1951 to 1954. He was a major figure in the ten-year Guatemalan Revolution, which represented some of the few years of representative democracy in Guatemalan history. The landmark program of agrarian reform Árbenz enacted as president was very influential across Latin America.Árbenz was born in 1913 to a wealthy family, son of a Swiss German father and a Guatemalan mother. He graduated with high honors from a military academy in 1935, and served in the army until 1944, quickly rising through the ranks. During this period, he witnessed the violent repression of agrarian laborers by the United States-backed dictator Jorge Ubico, and was personally required to escort chain-gangs of prisoners, an experience that contributed to his progressive views. In 1938 he met and married María Vilanova, who was a great ideological influence on him, as was José Manuel Fortuny, a Guatemalan communist. In October 1944 several civilian groups and progressive military factions led by Árbenz and Francisco Arana rebelled against Ubico's repressive policies. In the elections that followed, Juan José Arévalo was elected president, and began a highly popular program of social reform. Árbenz was appointed Minister of Defense, and played a crucial role in putting down a military coup in 1949.After the death of Arana, Árbenz contested the presidential elections that were held in 1950 and without significant opposition defeated Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, his nearest challenger, by a margin of over 50%. He took office on 15 March 1951, and continued the social reform policies of his predecessor. These reforms included an expanded right to vote, the ability of workers to organize, legitimizing political parties, and allowing public debate. The centerpiece of his policy was an agrarian reform law under which uncultivated portions of large land-holdings were expropriated in return for compensation and redistributed to poverty-stricken agricultural laborers. Approximately 500,000 people benefited from the decree. The majority of them were indigenous people, whose forebears had been dispossessed after the Spanish invasion.
His policies ran afoul of the United Fruit Company, which lobbied the United States government to have him overthrown. The US was also concerned by the presence of communists in the Guatemalan government, and Árbenz was ousted in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état engineered by the government of US president Dwight Eisenhower through the US Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency. Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas replaced him as president. Árbenz went into exile through several countries, where his family gradually fell apart, and his daughter committed suicide. He died in Mexico in 1971. In October 2011, the Guatemalan government issued an apology for Árbenz's overthrow.
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Some of their strengths
Jacobo Arbenz has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Generous, Kind, Diplomatic, Honest, Energetic, Intuitive, and Courteous.
Intelligent and Inquisitive
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Jacobo Arbenz is someone who is an intelligent, inquisitive, and imaginative person, who is practical, considerate, kind, and diplomatic in dealings with others. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.
Constant and Serious
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Jacobo Arbenz well know them as someone who can be determined, unmoving, and firm, like a rock or a high mountain.
Courteous and Easygoing
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Jacobo Arbenz as someone who is polite, modest, and diplomatic.
A person who tends to be socially popular, who loves intellectual or creative activities, who has a talent for communicating with and understanding the needs of others, and who seems to have a knack for getting recognized for their efforts.
Altruistic and Ambitious
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Jacobo Arbenz is someone who is the type of person who rallies behind a group, cause, or community, and who enjoys being dedicated to a higher cause of some sort.
They are also someone who is reflective, mysterious, and purposeful, who enjoys quiet and solo work, and who thrives in positions where there is no need to report to someone else.
Justice-seeking and Peaceful
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Jacobo Arbenz tends to be someone who loves peace and is ready to go to any costs to achieve it. Who has a taste for the good things in life, tends to be a good organizer, has a thirst for knowledge, and who tends to have the respect of friends and acquaintances.
Some of Jacobo Arbenz's challenges
While Jacobo Arbenz has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Jacobo Arbenz can be Materialistic, Hesitant, Narcissistic, Short-tempered, Impulsive, Indecisive, and Unemotional.
Hesitant and Narcissistic
One of Jacobo Arbenz's key challenges is that they are someone who can be hesitant and narcissistic.
Jacobo Arbenz must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs, and can be short-tempered and aggressive.
Indecisive and Materialistic
Jacobo Arbenz is someone who can be indecisive, indulgent, and materialistic, who can have difficulty focusing on a single career or profession, have difficulty following orders or respecting authority, and who can suffer from "analysis paralysis".
Pleasure-seeking and Indecisive
Finally, Jacobo Arbenz also can put others first too much, and hem-and-haw too much when making a decision.
