ABSTRACT
The paradox of Guatemalan politics is the same as that of many other countries: the coexistence of authoritarian rule and democratic forms. Modern political parties sprouted in the aftermath of the Revolution of 1944. The clumsy attempt of Castillo Armas to set the clock back and to eliminate political activity was too brief to succeed. With Castillo Armas's seizure of power, all existing parties were dissolved. His right-wing Party of Anti-Communist Unification later called the National Democratic Movement (MDN) was the only one allowed contesting the 1955 congressional elections. In the meanwhile, however, both the MDN and the Revolutionary party had split. The majority of the MDN in Congress had deserted their candidate to secure the election of Ydígoras. Those who were left, the hard-line supporters of the former Castillo Armas, reformed into the National Liberation Movement (MLN), led by Mario Sandoval Alarcon. The MLN denounced the changes as "a total farce" to keep Rios Montt in power.
