Background
Arévalo was born on September 10, 1904, in Taxisco, Guatemala, the son of Mariano Arévalo, a farmer and cattle rancher, and Elena Bermejo, a schoolteacher.
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1163818844/?tag=2022091-20
Arévalo was born on September 10, 1904, in Taxisco, Guatemala, the son of Mariano Arévalo, a farmer and cattle rancher, and Elena Bermejo, a schoolteacher.
Arévalo's early schooling was in Guatemala City; later he won an Argentine government scholarship to study at the University of La Plata, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1934.
After obtaining his degree Arévalo became a minor official in the Guatemalan ministry of education, traveled in Europe, and eventually returned to Argentina, where he taught in several universities and wrote books on pedagogy. When a revolution in 1944 toppled President Jorge Ubico, Arévalo returned to Guatemala and became a presidential candidate for the revolutionary parties. Although Arévalo had gained an international reputation through his writings, he was relatively unknown in Guatemala; thus there were few personal objections. This, together with his civilian, middle-class rural background, professional reputation, youthfulness, and imposing appearance, made his candidacy more acceptable. He overwhelmingly won the election of December 1944. A new constitution went into effect on March 13, 1945, and Arévalo's six-year term began two days later. The new president's policy was what he called "spiritual socialism, " an ill-defined doctrine of psychological and moral liberation. His socialism did not involve redistribution of material goods to equalize men who were economically different. He wanted to give every citizen not only the superficial right to vote but "the fundamental right of living in peace with his own conscience, with his family, with his goods, with his destiny. " During the first years of Arévalo's administration, legislation included a social security law, a labor code, and the Institute for the Development of Production as well as statutes regulating banking and monetary practices and the national airlines. During the latter half of the term, political difficulties caused by disunity within ranks of Arévalo supporters and the presidential ambitions of Col. Francisco Javier Arana, chief of the armed forces, plagued the government. Throughout his presidency Arévalo's attitude toward communism was ambiguous. Some leading Guatemalan Communists were kept out of the country and the party was not allowed to register as an official political organization, but Communist infiltration of labor unions and of other political parties was significant. Arévalo's relations with the United States were strained, both because he refused to persecute Communist sympathizers and because his attempts at labor reform interfered with huge American fruit-growing interests in Guatemala. His support for exiled leaders from Caribbean dictatorships was also viewed with suspicion by the State Department. Leaving office in 1951, Arévalo became an ambassador at large, traveling in Latin America and Europe. After the revolution of 1954, which ousted President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, Arévalo went into exile and wrote books extremely critical of United States policy in Latin America. Prior to the scheduled 1963 presidential election, Arévalo announced his intention to run and clandestinely returned to Guatemala, but after the army revolution removing President Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes, he quietly left the country; the election was postponed. While still in exile Arévalo was appointed ambassador to Chile in January 1969. From 1970 to 1972 he served as ambassador to France. Arévalo died in Guatemala City on October 6, 1990.
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
As president, Arévalo enacted several social reform policies, including an increase in the minimum wage and a series of literacy programs. He also oversaw the drafting of a new constitution in 1945.
Arévalo was married at the time of his presidency to Elisa Martínez. He had a relationship with Alaíde Foppa, by whom he had a son, Julio Solórzano Foppa. At the time of his death, he was married to Margarita de Leon and had five children.
