 From the late 19th century until 1944 Guatemala was governed by a series of authoritarian rulers who sought to strengthen the economy by supporting the export of coffee . Between 1898 and 1920 , Manuel Estrada Cabrera granted significant concessions to the United Fruit Company , an American corporation that traded in tropical fruit , and dispossessed many indigenous people of their communal lands . Under Jorge Ubico , who ruled as a dictator between 1931 and 1944 , this process was intensified , with the institution of harsh labor regulations and a police state . 
