his support, and promising them land of their own if they supported the Liberal party that Ubico had begun as a front for the dictatorship. Overthrow By mid-October, several different plans to overthrow the junta had been set in motion by the various factions of the pro-democracy movement, including the teachers, the students, and the progressive factions of the army. On 19 October, the government learned of one of these conspiracies. The same day, a small group of army officers launched a coup from within the army, led by the coup-plotters Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán. They were joined the next day, 20 October, by other factions of the army and the civilian population. Initially, the battle went against the revolutionaries, but after an appeal for support their ranks were swelled by unionists and students, they eventually subdued the police and the army factions loyal to Ponce Vaides, and Ponce Vaides surrendered unconditionally. Aftermath Ponce Vaides and Ubico were allowed to leave the country safely. The military junta was replaced by another three-person junta consisting of Árbenz, Arana, and an upper-class youth named Jorge Toriello. The junta promised free and open elections to the presidency and the congress, as well as for a constituent assembly. The presidential elections were won by Juan José Arévalo, who began a series of social and economic reforms that constituted the Guatemalan Revolution. References 1889 births 1956 deaths Presidents of Guatemala Vice presidents of Guatemala Guatemalan generals Liberal Party (Guatemala) politicians World War II political leaders