On October 20, the day of Guatemala’s revolution, the country’s government formally apologized to the family of former President Juan Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, who was deposed in a coup in 57 years ago.

“I want to apologize to the family for the great crime committed on June 27, 1954,” said President Alvaro Colom at the National Palace in Guatemala City. “A crime committed against the former president, his wife, his family. It was a historic crime for Guatemala—that day changed Guatemala and we have not recuperated from it since.”

It was a small ceremony held on a national public holiday to celebrate Revolution Day and only a few weeks before the second round of the election this weekend. In attendance were Jacobo Arbenz Vilanova, son of the ex-president, the government's cabinet, diplomats, national institutions, and, the list of people presented by the family.

Jacobo Arbenz Vilanova, son of the former president, receives the book Mi Esposo el Señor Presidente, a biography written by his mother, María Vilanova. Photo courtesy of Kara Andrade.

“There was no intentionality election-wise or because it's the end of the government,” said Dora Ruth del Valle Cóbar, president of Centro de Comunicación y Prensa Alternativa para el Desarrollo Humano (COPADEH). “It's our responsibility and since it's the first 20th of October that we have after signing the agreement with the victims.”