ABSTRACT
On October 20, 1944, with the uprising of students, workers, and young army officers, Guatemala began its transformation into a "modern" country. This chapter summarizes the evolution of the "old order" that was overthrown by the October Revolution. Contemporary Guatemalan underdevelopment is the product of a 450-year process that began with the Spanish conquest. Pre-Hispanic indigenous Guatemala was by no means "primitive"; what the Spaniards found in 1524 was a complex, stratified proto-class society, torn by multiple social tensions. In the colonial experience, which lasted from 1524 to 1821, lie the seeds of contemporary Guatemalan underdevelopment and dependency. After 1524 economic, social, and political priorities came to be determined by the needs and interests of the dominant classes in Spain. Colonial relations were defined largely by the Spaniards' expropriation of land from the indigenous population. The colonial system required only a limited amount of capital; its basic resource was forced Indian labor.
