Baudilio Palma

Biography

Palma was born in the small village of Santa Catarina Mita, in the Jutiapa Department of Guatemala. He graduated high school in Guatemala City, in the Escuela Normal para Varones, part of the then prestigious National Central Institute for boys, where he obtained both a teacher and a high school diplomas. In 1894 he started his law degree in the College of Law of the National University, graduating in 1897.

Coup d'état

However, on 16 December 1930 a coup d'état led by General Orellana Contreras and Luis Leonardo forced Palma to resign after a short battle inside the Presidential Palace. During the fight, that lasted no more than an hour, Mauro de León died. The Liberal Progresista party placed general Roderico Anzueto in the key position of Chief of Police.

Once in power, Orellana Contreras reformed the Cabinet and worked on restructuring the Guatemalan military bases. However, given the large investments that American companies had in Guatemala -especially the United Fruit Company, the United States Secretary of State Henry Stimson publicly denounced Orellana as an unconstitutional leader and demanded his removal. Realizing that the Americans would not recognize his government, Orellana resigned on 29 December. Stimson sent Ambassador Sheltom Whitehouse to tell Orellana Contreras that his country would not be dealing with the new Guatemalan president whatsoever. Whitehouse pressed the National Assembly to force Orellana Contreras to resign, taking advantage of Orellana's lack of political experience, and the American government needed a stable regime in Guatemala.

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