 Due to its long association with Ubico 's government , the United Fruit Company ( UFC ) was seen as an impediment to progress by Guatemalan revolutionaries after 1944 . This image was worsened by the company 's discriminatory policies towards its colored workers . Thanks to its position as the country 's largest landowner and employer , the reforms of Arévalo 's government affected the UFC more than other companies . Among other things , the labor code passed by the government allowed its workers to strike when their demands for higher wages and job security were not met . The company saw itself as being specifically targeted by the reforms , and refused to negotiate with the numerous sets of strikers , despite frequently being in violation of the new laws . The company 's labor troubles were compounded in 1952 when Jacobo Árbenz passed Decree 900 , the agrarian reform law . Of the 550 @,@ 000 acres ( 220 @,@ 000 ha ) that the company owned , 15 % were being cultivated ; the rest of the land , which was idle , came under the scope of the agrarian reform law . 
