In 1871 the government of 

Justo Rufino Barrios passed laws confiscating the lands of the

native Mayan people and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for minimal
compensation.[3] Several United States-based companies, including the United Fruit Company,
received this public land, and were exempted from paying taxes.[12][13] In 1929 the Great
Depression led to the collapse of the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading to unrest
among workers and laborers. Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite lent their
support to Jorge Ubico, who won the election that followed in 1931, an election in which he
was the only candidate.[14][13] With the support of the United States, Ubico soon became one of
Latin America's most brutal dictators.[15] Ubico abolished the system of debt
peonage introduced by Barrios and replaced it with a vagrancy law, which required all men of
working age who did not own land to perform a minimum of 100 days of hard labor. [16][3] In
addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to work on public infrastructure such as
roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low levels, and passed a law allowing
landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any action they took to defend their
property,[16] including allowing them to execute workers as a "disciplinary" measure. [17][18][19][20] The
result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against him among agricultural laborers.
[21]
 Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous people, once stating that they
resembled donkeys.[22] He gave away 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres) of public land to the
United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish bases in Guatemala. In 1871
the government of Justo Rufino Barrios passed laws confiscating the lands of the native Mayan
people and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for minimal compensation. [3] Several
United States-based companies, including the United Fruit Company, received this public land,
and were exempted from paying taxes.[12][13] In 1929 the Great Depression led to the collapse of
the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading to unrest among workers and laborers.
Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite lent their support to Jorge Ubico, who
won the election that followed in 1931, an election in which he was the only candidate. [14][13] With
the support of the United States, Ubico soon became one of Latin America's most brutal
dictators.[15] Ubico abolished the system of debt peonage introduced by Barrios and replaced it
with a vagrancy law, which required all men of working age who did not own land to perform a
minimum of 100 days of hard labor.[16][3] In addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to
work on public infrastructure such as roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low
levels, and passed a law allowing landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any
action they took to defend their property,[16] including allowing them to execute workers as a
"disciplinary" measure.[17][18][19][20] The result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against
him among agricultural laborers.[21] Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous
people, once stating that they resembled donkeys.[22] He gave away 200,000 hectares (490,000
acres) of public land to the United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish
bases in Guatemala. In 1871 the government of Justo Rufino Barrios passed laws confiscating
the lands of the native Mayan people and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for
minimal compensation.[3] Several United States-based companies, including the United Fruit
Company, received this public land, and were exempted from paying taxes. [12][13] In 1929
the Great Depression led to the collapse of the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading
to unrest among workers and laborers. Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite
lent their support to Jorge Ubico, who won the election that followed in 1931, an election in
which he was the only candidate.[14][13] With the support of the United States, Ubico soon
became one of Latin America's most brutal dictators.[15] Ubico abolished the system of debt
peonage introduced by Barrios and replaced it with a vagrancy law, which required all men of
working age who did not own land to perform a minimum of 100 days of hard labor. [16][3] In
addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to work on public infrastructure such as
roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low levels, and passed a law allowing
landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any action they took to defend their
property,[16] including allowing them to execute workers as a "disciplinary" measure. [17][18][19][20] The
result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against him among agricultural laborers.
[21]
 Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous people, once stating that they
resembled donkeys.[22] He gave away 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres) of public land to the
United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish bases in Guatemala. In 1871
the government of Justo Rufino Barrios passed laws confiscating the lands of the native Mayan
people and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for minimal compensation. [3] Several
United States-based companies, including the United Fruit Company, received this public land,
and were exempted from paying taxes.[12][13] In 1929 the Great Depression led to the collapse of
the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading to unrest among workers and laborers.
Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite lent their support to Jorge Ubico, who
won the election that followed in 1931, an election in which he was the only candidate. [14][13] With
the support of the United States, Ubico soon became one of Latin America's most brutal
dictators.[15] Ubico abolished the system of debt peonage introduced by Barrios and replaced it
with a vagrancy law, which required all men of working age who did not own land to perform a
minimum of 100 days of hard labor.[16][3] In addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to
work on public infrastructure such as roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low
levels, and passed a law allowing landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any
action they took to defend their property,[16] including allowing them to execute workers as a
"disciplinary" measure.[17][18][19][20] The result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against
him among agricultural laborers.[21] Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous
people, once stating that they resembled donkeys.[22] He gave away 200,000 hectares (490,000
acres) of public land to the United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish
bases in Guatemala. In 1871 the government of Justo Rufino Barrios passed laws confiscating
the lands of the native Mayan people and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for
minimal compensation.[3] Several United States-based companies, including the United Fruit
Company, received this public land, and were exempted from paying taxes. [12][13] In 1929
the Great Depression led to the collapse of the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading
to unrest among workers and laborers. Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite
lent their support to Jorge Ubico, who won the election that followed in 1931, an election in
which he was the only candidate.[14][13] With the support of the United States, Ubico soon
became one of Latin America's most brutal dictators.[15] Ubico abolished the system of debt
peonage introduced by Barrios and replaced it with a vagrancy law, which required all men of
working age who did not own land to perform a minimum of 100 days of hard labor. [16][3] In
addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to work on public infrastructure such as
roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low levels, and passed a law allowing
landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any action they took to defend their
property,[16] including allowing them to execute workers as a "disciplinary" measure. [17][18][19][20] The
result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against him among agricultural laborers.
[21]
 Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous people, once stating that they
resembled donkeys.[22] He gave away 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres) of public land to the
United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish bases in Guatemala. In 1871
the government of Justo Rufino Barrios passed laws confiscating the lands of the native Mayan
people and compelling them to work in coffee plantations for minimal compensation. [3] Several
United States-based companies, including the United Fruit Company, received this public land,
and were exempted from paying taxes.[12][13] In 1929 the Great Depression led to the collapse of
the economy and a rise in unemployment, leading to unrest among workers and laborers.
Fearing the possibility of a revolution, the landed elite lent their support to Jorge Ubico, who
won the election that followed in 1931, an election in which he was the only candidate. [14][13] With
the support of the United States, Ubico soon became one of Latin America's most brutal
dictators.[15] Ubico abolished the system of debt peonage introduced by Barrios and replaced it
with a vagrancy law, which required all men of working age who did not own land to perform a
minimum of 100 days of hard labor.[16][3] In addition, the state made use of unpaid Indian labor to
work on public infrastructure such as roads and railroads. Ubico also froze wages at very low
levels, and passed a law allowing landowners complete immunity from prosecution for any
action they took to defend their property,[16] including allowing them to execute workers as a
"disciplinary" measure.[17][18][19][20] The result of these laws was a tremendous resentment against
him among agricultural laborers.[21] Ubico was highly contemptuous of the country's indigenous
people, once stating that they resembled donkeys.[22] He gave away 200,000 hectares (490,000
acres) of public land to the United Fruit Company, and allowed the US military to establish
bases in Guatemala.