 The resignation of Ubico did not restore democracy . Ubico appointed three generals , Federico Ponce Vaides , Eduardo Villagrán Ariza , and Buenaventura Pineda , to a junta which would lead the provisional government . A few days later , Ponce Vaides persuaded the congress to appoint him interim president . Ponce pledged to hold free elections soon , while at the same time suppressing the protests . Press freedom was suspended , arbitrary detentions continued , and memorial services for slain revolutionaries were prohibited . However , the protests had grown to the point where the government could not stamp them out , and rural areas also began organizing against the dictatorship . The government began using the police to intimidate the indigenous population to keep the junta in power through the forthcoming election . This resulted in growing support for an armed revolution among some sections of the populace . By now , the army was disillusioned with the junta , and progressives within it had begun to plot a coup . 
