Revolutionary Action Party
|
Revolutionary Action Party
Partido Acción Revolucionaria |
|
|---|---|
| Leader | Víctor Manuel Gutiérrez (last) |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Dissolved | 1954 |
| Headquarters | Guatemala City |
| Ideology |
Social democracy Agrarianism Populism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | Party of the Guatemalan Revolution (1952-1954) |
| International affiliation | None |
Revolutionary Action Party (Partido Acción Revolucionaria, or PAR) was a leftist political party in Guatemala during the ten-year Guatemalan Revolution. Formed in 1945, the party went through a series of mergers and fractures before dissolving in 1954 after the United States-backed coup d'état.
The PAR was formed in November 1945 through the merger of the National Renovation Party (PRN) and the Popular Liberation Front (FPL), which had supported the presidency of Juan José Arévalo. The two parties together held a large majority in parliament during the entirety of Arévalo's term. 18 months after coming together, the FPL and the RN split again, but the PAR survived the split and remained a political player. The fracturing of the PAR was partially due to the manipulations of Arévalo, who preferred not to confront a single large party in parliament.
The leadership of the party, similar to that of other major Guatemalan parties of the period, was composed of middle-class urban youth, especially those who had been involved in the university uprisings during the October Revolution. Leaders of the party included José Manuel Fortuny, Victor Manuel Gutierrez, and Augusto Charnaud McDonald.
In 1946, several radical figures within the PAR made a successful effort to take over important leadership positions within the party. Fortuny, who had become secretary general of the PAR in 1945, was a member of this push. One year later, Fortuny and other young radical figures founded a covert group within the PAR called the Vanguardia Democratica (Democratic Vanguard), which believed in Marxist politics This group, which included Guerra Borges, Silva Jonama, and Alvarado Monzón, continually clashed with the more conservative factions of the party, led by Charnaud MacDonald and Humberto González Huárez. At the 1949 party convention, this Marxist faction was defeated in a 382-120 vote. They were given some positions within the party to maintain unity, but were unable to influence its course of action any more. Fortuny was removed from the position of secretary general, a position he had held since 1945.
...
Wikipedia