CIA Retaliation to Arbenz

Loren Ayala Patrick Burden Senior Division Group Website

Process Paper Choosing a Topic: We began searching for a topic for the National History Day project, by looking at events that had caused a revolution, reaction, reform, or a combination of these. Incidentally, one of us stumbled upon a section in our U.S. History textbook describing Eisenhowers involvement with the CIA during the post-WWII red scare, including a few words briefly mentioning Guatemala. Neither of us knew about it, and our history teacher was not able to supply extra information. We were intrigued after looking up the term and saw it as an opportunity to learn about it more in depth than the phrase the textbook presented. Conducting Research: When conducting research, we decided to do so separately to increase the amount of resources found and ensure both member had ample background on the topic. We also chose to separate the topics each one of us was covering: while one person found documentation on the United States perspective of the topic, the other found Guatemalan documentation. The team member assigned the Guatemalan research is fluent in the Spanish language, meaning that primary documents could be found in their original form without translation. It is important to mention that finding Guatemalan documentation was extremely difficult because they have yet to transfer the majority of their records to electronic databases, and travelling to Guatemala for research purposes was not possible. Creating the Project: The group made the decision to create a website as opposed to the other project categories because of the knowledge that we have in website construction and design. The curriculum that our high school, Advanced Technologies Academy, offers in computer science is

very thorough, and we felt confident that a well-put together website was within our ability level. In addition, we felt that using a website was the best way to highlight the original documentation that we had found during the research phase of our project. When creating the website we made sure that both members actively participated in its construction, and managed time appropriately. Each member took responsibility for informing the other of changes and citing their own sources. Relating to the Theme: We believe that our topic, CIA Retaliation to Arbenz, can relate to this years theme in all its forms. Reform is present within the context of Guatemalan politics: Arbenz attempted to improve the economic state of the people in Guatemala through a land reform that would reduce poverty. The reform that Arbenz implemented was completely new in a country where oppression was prevalent, and had the potential to change lives. However, the United States reacted negatively, accusing Arbenz of holding communist intentions and acting through Operation PBSUCCES to eliminate the so-called threa. This single event in Guatemalan history revolutionized United States and Latin American relations and served as a precedent for policies and attitudes prevalent throughout the rest of the 20th century.