Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 The Origins of a Democratic National Constitution: The 1945 Guatemalan Constitution and Human Rights Raymond N. Ruggiero Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE ORIGINS OF A DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONSTITUTION: THE 1945 GUATEMALAN CONSTITUTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS By RAYMOND N. RUGGIERO A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Humanities Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2013 Raymond N. Ruggiero defended this dissertation on March 19, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: David F. Johnson Professor Directing Dissertation Delia M. Poey University Representative Kathleen M. Erndl Committee Member Daniel Maier-Katkin Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE GUATEMALAN 1945 CONSTITUTION............27 1.1 The Spanish Colonial Era ............................................................................................30 1.2 Ladino; A New Social Class ........................................................................................34 1.3 Independence and the 1812 Spanish Constitution .......................................................36 1.4 Implications of the Monroe Doctrine ...........................................................................44 1.5 Coffee Economy ..........................................................................................................47 1.6 The Impact of German Immigration ............................................................................50 1.7 Early Liberal Era ..........................................................................................................51 1.8 Manuel Estrada Cabrera ...............................................................................................53 1.9 United Fruit Company .................................................................................................58 1.10 Reforms of Lazaro Chacon and the Unionist Party ...................................................62 II. THE SOCIO-POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE 1945 CONSTITUTION................................66 2.1 General Jorge Ubico y Castaneda ................................................................................67 2.2 University Students, Intellectuals, and the Quest for Democratic Reforms ................76 2.3 The October Revolution ...............................................................................................82 2.4 The 1945 Constitution................................................................................................103 III. POLITICAL FIGURES OF GUATEMALA’S REFORM GOVERNMENT .......................112 3.1 Juan José Arévalo: The Face of a Democratic Guatemala ........................................116 3.2 Triumvirate Leaders of the Reform Government ......................................................125 3.3 Supporting Political Figures within the Reform Government ...................................140 IV. INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF THE 1945 CONSTITUTION ..........................................154 4.1 Redefining Guatemala; the Relationship between the State and the Individual ........160 4.2 Society and the State ..................................................................................................166 4.3 Protecting Human Rights: Constitutional Articles or Statutory Laws. ......................167 iii 4.4 Organizing a New Guatemala ....................................................................................173 4.5 Culture........................................................................................................................178 4.6 Family and Marriage ..................................................................................................183 4.7 Socialist and Democratic Aspects of the 1945 Constitution ......................................185 4.8 Human Rights Aspects of the 1945 Constitution .......................................................190 V. THE UNIQUE CHARACTER AND DISTINCT PARALLELS OF THE 1945 CONSTITUTION RELATIVE TO REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVES ..............................................................................................................................199 5.1 1930s Regional Events and Conferences leading to International Human Rights Initiatives..........................................................................................................................203 5.2 1940s Events and Conferences leading to International Human Rights Initiatives ...212 5.3 The Ninth Inter-American Conference of American States at Bogotá (March 30-May2, 1948) ...................................................................................................224 5.4 Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Discussions of the Third (Social and Humanitarian) Committee of the General Assembly..........................233 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................251 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................258 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................268 iv ABSTRACT This study investigates and analyzes the socio-political origins of the 1945 Guatemalan Constitution with the purpose of confirming the document as a unique example of a modern representative democracy necessary to advance social justice and human rights. The historical events and individual figures are examined in order to determine the socio-political thought that established fundamental human rights with the strength of democratic constitutional protections. As a result of Guatemala’s national achievements in the advancement of human rights, the study details Guatemala’s contributions to the Latin American regional efforts to support human rights and the creation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. v INTRODUCTION “Societies are not made of sticks and stones, but of men whose individual characters, by turning the scale one way or the other, determine the direction of the whole.” Socrates in Plato’s Republic, Book VIII This study investigates and analyzes the socio-political origins of the 1945 Guatemalan Constitution with the purpose of confirming the document as a unique example of a representative democracy necessary to advance social justice and human rights. The analysis of the 1945 Constitution shows that Guatemala was the first modern representative democracy to incorporate human rights initiatives contained in constitutional amendments. Moreover, the document signifies human rights as a prerequisite for the State’s moral obligations. Guatemala’s national independence movement that gave birth to the 1945 Constitution coincides with the new international order based on social justice consistent with the post-war creation of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition, the evidence collected here proves that the intellectual understanding of the ‘dignity of man’ embedded in the 1945 Constitution contributed to discussions for regional and international human rights initiatives. The investigation identifies various elements of the national constitution that were an ethical response to the political, economic, and social inequalities of Guatemala’s early twentieth century history. Economic developments influenced by a history of foreign capital interests seeking material gain contributed greatly to a series of political dictatorial regimes that subjugated the majority of Guatemala’s inhabitants. In reaction to past political and economic abuses, the 1945 Guatemalan Constitution secured provisions to promote social equality and prevent future economic exploitation by creating social and labor reforms unique to modern democratic constitutions. This study examines labor laws passed subsequently as a consequence of an earlier period of abuse and details the degree of success of those laws during Guatemala’s national, political experience of the late 1940s. Evidence in the form of essential documents reveals how Guatemala’s social democratic constitutional laws contributed to post World War II commitments to international democracy, social justice, peace, and the advancement of human rights. Analysis of the constitutional drafting committee transcripts discloses how a dedicated group of Guatemalan intellectuals adopted an innovative system of democratic governance that 1 balanced individual liberties with social obligations. This group of legislative reformers were intent on liberating its citizens in accordance with newly formed international human rights initiatives through the form and content of the 1945 Constitution.