Luis Arturo González López

Luis Arturo González López (21 December 1900, Zacapa – 11 November 1965) was a politician in Guatemala and the acting President of Guatemala from 27 July 1957 to 24 October 1957.

Biography

Born in the town of Zacapa, González López studied law, and served as a judge in several cities.^[1] He was a member of the Guatemalan Supreme Court for seven years from 1945 to 1951, before being removed: reports stated that we was removed due to pressure from the communist parties.^[1] He was appointed Vice-President to Carlos Castillo Armas in 1957.^[1] On July 26, 1957 Castillo Armas was shot dead in the Guatemalan capital by a member of the presidential guard.^[2][3] González López held the position of "First Presidential Designate", and was sworn in as interim president on 27 July.^[4]

Supporters of Castillo Armas were considering forming a military junta and seizing power, but were dissuaded by Edwin J. Sparks. the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala. The U.S. government preferred to preserve a facade of democracy, rather than have Guatemala revert to a blatant dictatorship.^[5] Elections were organized soon afterwards, complicated by pressure from the U.S. government, the government of Dominica, and the army.^[5]

The centrist Ortiz Passarelli won a plurality in these elections, but supporters of Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, who had also been a candidate in the election, rioted.^[6][2] The Guatemalan government declared martial law for a period of 30 days. On 24 October, a group of 80 military officers marched into the Presidential palace and replaced González López with a three-person junta led by army Colonel Oscar Mendoza Azurdia.^[6] New elections were held shortly afterward. Ydígoras Fuentes comfortable won this election and seized power for himself soon after.^[2]

References

Notes

Sources

• Cullather, Nicholas (1999). Secret History: The CIA's Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala 1952–54 (2nd ed.). Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-3311-3.
• "Luis Arturo González López". Encarta. Archived from the original on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2004.
• Streeter, Stephen M. (2000). Managing the counterrevolution: the United States and Guatemala, 1954–1961. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-89680-215-5.