 On 1 October 1944 , Alejandro Cordova , the editor of El Imparcial , the main opposition newspaper , was assassinated . This led to the military coup plotters reaching out to the leaders of the protests , in an attempt to turn the coup into a popular uprising . Ponce Vaides announced elections , but the pro @-@ democracy forces denounced them as a fraud , citing his attempts to rig them . Ponce Vaides sought to stabilize his regime by playing on inter @-@ racial tension within the Guatemalan population . The most vocal support for the revolution had come from the <unk> , or people of mixed racial descent . Ponce Vaides sought to exploit their fear of the Indians by paying thousands of indigenous peasants to march in Guatemala City in his support , and promising them land if they supported the Liberal party that Ubico had begun as a front for the dictatorship . 
