Juan José Arévalo

His Excellency Doctor Juan José Arévalo Bermejo
President Arévalo during his inauguration
24th President of Guatemala
In office 15 March 1945 – 15 March 1951
Vice President	Vacant (1945-1948) Mario Monteforte (1948-1949) Vacant (1949-1951)
Preceded by	Juan Federico Ponce Vaides
Succeeded by	Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán
Personal details
Born	(1904-09-10)10 September 1904 Taxisco, Santa Rosa
Died	8 October 1990(1990-10-08) (aged 86) Guatemala City
Nationality	Guatemalan
Political party	Revolutionary Action Party

Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (10 September 1904 – 8 October 1990) was a professor of philosophy who became Guatemala's first democratically elected president in 1944. He was elected following a popular uprising against the United States-backed dictator Jorge Ubico that began the Guatemalan Revolution. He remained in office until 1951, surviving 25 coup attempts. He did not contest the election of 1951, instead choosing to hand over power to Jacobo Árbenz. As president, he enacted several social reform policies, including an increase in the minimum wage and a series of literacy programs. He also oversaw the drafting of a new constitution in 1945.

Arévalo served as President from 15 March 1945 to 15 March 1951. Arévalo's administration was marked by unprecedented relatively free political life during his six-year term. Arévalo, an educator and philosopher, understood the need for advancement in individuals, communities, and nations by practical means. Before his presidency, Arévalo had been an exiled university professor. He returned to Guatemala to help in the reconstructive efforts of the new post-Ubíco government, especially in the areas of social security and drafting of a new Constitution. His philosophy of "spiritual socialism," referred to as Arevalísmo, may be considered less an economic system than a movement toward the liberation of the imagination of oppressed Latin America. In the post-World War II period, internationalist players such as the United States regarded Arevalísmo socialism as Communism, and therefore cause for unease and alarm, which garnered support from neighboring satellite caudillos such as Anastasio Somoza García.

Many foreign estates were confiscated and redistributed to peasants, landowners were required to provide adequate housing for their workers, new schools, hospitals, and houses were built, and a new minimum wage was introduced.