 As the highest @-@ ranking military officer in the October Revolution , Francisco Arana had led the three @-@ man junta that formed the interim government after the coup . He was opposed to handing over power to a civilian government , first seeking to postpone the 1944 election , and then to annul it . In return for allowing Arévalo to become president , Arana was granted the newly created position of " chief of the armed forces , " ranked above the minister of defense . The position had a six @-@ year term , and controlled all military appointments . In December 1945 , Arévalo was involved in a motoring accident which left him seriously injured . Fearing a military coup , the leaders of the Revolutionary Action Party ( PAR ) made a pact with Arana , in which the party agreed to support his candidacy in the 1950 elections in return for a promise to refrain from a coup . 
