presidential election he was initially a candidate for his National Republican Party. He joined forces with Arturo Araujo of the Labor Party, running on a reformist platform. The ticket won the election with a 46.65% margin and 106,777 votes in what was considered the first free multiparty election in Salvadoran history and the last for over half a century. The reason for the coup was that military personnel had not been paid their salary, although it is sometimes attributed to the fall in prices of coffee abroad. The reality is that officers were not paid and the Finance Minister had only paid the police, who remained loyal to the president. The army officers were angry and ousted President Araujo on 2 December 1931. In its place, the military officers established the Civic Directory. Two days later on 4 December, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez became Acting President of El Salvador. The United States did not recognize the legitimacy of Hernández Martínez's rise to power or government due to the 1923 Central American Treaty of Peace and Amity and only recognized his government after his government put down the communist uprising in early 1932. Hernández Martínez eventually denounced El Salvador's membership of the treaty on 26 December 1932. Presidency La Matanza Legislative elections were scheduled for 3–5 January 1932 and Hernández Martínez's government promised free and fair elections. To participate in the election, however, voters had to be registered in their municipalities alongside their party, thus giving the government a list of Communist Party members. The communists won several municipalities but Hernández Martínez cancelled the election results and cancelled follow up elections scheduled for 10–12 January. In response to the election cancellation, many in the Salvadoran Communist Party (PCES) believed that armed insurrection was the only choice since both democracy and Hernández Martínez's authoritarian government had both failed. The rebellion was planned for mid-January. Meanwhile, indigenous peasants also planned a revolt of their own to protest the poor living conditions in western El Salvador. On 22 January 1932, peasants in western El Salvador attacked military barracks and wealthy estates and killed around 100 people. The rebels, led by Feliciano Ama, Farabundo Martí, Mario Zapata, and Alfonso Luna, seized control of the towns of Juayúa, Nahuizalco, Izalco, and Tlacopan. Barracks in towns such as Ahuachapán, Santa Tecla, and Sonsonate resisted the attacks and remained under government control. Hernández Martínez responded quickly to the uprising