The Liberal Party (, PL) was a political party in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

History

The party originated in the pre-independence ''Cacos'' group, who were in favour of a free market economic system.Robert J. Alexander (1982) ''Political parties of the Americas'', Greenwood Press, pp424–425 It became the ruling party of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

in 1830 when

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...

became president. However, a civil war led to the dissolution of the federation and the Conservative Party taking power in Guatemala. In 1871, the Liberal Party returned to power when Miguel García Granados became president. A series of Liberal presidents followed, including

Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...

, who ruled from 1889 until 1920 when Congress declared him insane, and elected the Unionist Party's Carlos Herrera y Luna as his replacement. The Unionist Party was formed by both former conservatives and liberals. However, the party regained power in 1921 when

José María Orellana José María Orellana Pinto (11 July 1872 – 26 September 1926) was a Guatemalan political and military leader. He was chief of staff of President Manuel Estrada Cabrera and President of Guatemala between 1921 and 1926, after overthrowing Cons ...

removed President Carlos Herrera from office. Orellana was formally elected President the following year. The Liberals won all 69 seats in the 1923 Congressional elections, with the result repeated in

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

. In

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

, the Unionist Party led by

Lázaro Chacón González Lázaro Chacón González (27 June 1873 – 9 April 1931) was the acting President of Guatemala from 26 September 1926 to 18 December 1926 and President of Guatemala from 19 December 1926 to 2 January 1931. Born in Teculután, Zacapa he was t ...

regained power but was replaced in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

by the candidate of the Liberal– Progressive Liberal candidate

Jorge Ubico Jorge Ubico Castañeda (10 November 1878 – 14 June 1946), nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the president of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944. A ge ...

References

Defunct political parties in Guatemala Federal Republic of Central America Liberal parties in North America Political parties disestablished in the 1930s {{Guatemala-party-stub