The Progressive Liberal Party was a political party in Guatemala. It had a nationalistic and liberal ideology. It was founded in 1922, and dissolved in 1944.

The party, led by Jorge Ubico won the 1931 general election unopposed.

The party's members included those who were complicit during the dictatorship of Manuel Estrada Cabrera as well as prominent members Guatemala's intellectual youth and of Guatemalan society. When Ubico first assumed power in 1931, the PLP adopted a program that called for, among other things: reform of political institutions, a solution to economic problems resulting from industrialization, and complete reformation of the education system. At least up until 1932, the PLP did not formally exist as a proper political party, but rather of a series of clubs across the country. Indigenous peoples in Guatemala were heavily persecuted under Ubico's rule, despite the party's claim that many social systems were implemented to assist this population; although support among indigenous peoples of the era is complex, as some used Ubico's expanded bureaucracy to express personal grievances in the hopes of preventing local abuses. Because the PLP effectively served as a vehicle for the Ubico dictatorship, many political parties founded after the ouster of the dictatorship in the Guatemalan Revolution refused to adopt the word "party" in their names.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

ElectionCandidateVotes%Result1922Lost 192636,940Lost 1931305,841Elected

Legislative Assembly elections

ElectionVotes%PositionSeats+/–Status in legislature19230% 2nd 0 Opposition192550612.73% 2nd 0 Opposition192636,94011.39% 2nd 5 Opposition19270% 2nd 5 Opposition192915.28% 2nd 6 Opposition1931305,841100% 1st 63 Government1935100% 1st 0 Government194444,57191.84% 1st 64 Government

Presidents of Guatemala

President Term start Term end Term length Vice President1(21) Jorge Ubico 14 February 1931 1 July 1944 13 years, 138 days Vacant2(–) Juan Federico Ponce Vaides 1 July 1944 20 October 1944 111 days Vacant

References

External links Topic