José Manuel Fortuny

José Manuel Fortuny Arana (22 May 1916 – 2005) was an important communist leader in Latin America. He became well known for his friendship with Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz, and was one of the main advisers in his government, which lasted from 1951–54.[1][2] Árbenz was overthrown by a coup engineered by the United States in 1954, an event which drove Fortuny into exile, along with many of his comrades.

José Manuel Fortuny
Born(1916-05-22)22 May 1916
Santa Rosa, Guatemala
Died2005 (Age 89)
Mexico City, Mexico
NationalityGuatemalan
Other namesChé Manuel
Alma materUniversity of San Carlos
Known forBeing an adviser to Jacobo Árbenz

Early life

José Manuel Fortuny was born to a middle-class family in the Guatemalan Department of Santa Rosa on 16 May 1916. He was a law student at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, but did not graduate. Before becoming involved with politics, he had worked variously for the Sterling company, the British Legation, and the broadcaster journal Aire.[3]

Guatemalan Revolution
Further information: Guatemalan Revolution

Revolutionary Action Party
The logo of the Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo, co-founded by Fortuny

During the fall of Jorge Ubico and the beginning of the Guatemalan Revolution in 1944, Fortuny was vice president of the Student Association Law. He became a member of the Popular Front, and when that merged into the Revolutionary Action Party (Partido Acción Revolucionaria, or PAR) in 1945, he became the leader of the radical wing of the new organization.[4] In 1946, several radical figures within the PAR made a successful effort to take over important leadership positions within the party. Fortuny, who was a member of this push, became the secretary general of the PAR.[5] One year later, Fortuny and other young radical figures founded a covert group within the PAR called the Democratic Vanguard. In 1949, frustrated because he was unable to take complete control of the PAR, Fortuny founded the Partido Comunista de Guatemala (Communist Party of Guatemala).[5] In 1952, this party merged with another communist faction led by Victor Manuel Gutierrez to form the Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo (PGT), or the Guatemalan Party of Labor.[6] Fortuny was General Secretary of the PGT until 1954.[1]

Árbenz government

Fortuny played the role of friend and adviser to Árbenz through the three years of his government, from 1951 to 1954.[2][4] Fortuny wrote several speeches for Árbenz, and in his role as agricultural secretary,[1] he was involved in crafting Árbenz' landmark agrarian reform bill. Despite his position in Árbenz' government, however, Fortuny never became a popular figure in Guatemala, and did not have the sort of popular following that Gutierrez had.[2][5] In 1952, Fortuny contested an election for the national Congress, but was heavily defeated. His manner was occasionally seen as offensive, and he was seen as putting the interests of the communist movement before those of the Guatemalan working class. Under his leadership, the communist party remained numerically weak, without any representation in Árbenz' cabinet.[5]

Fortuny resigned along with Árbenz following the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état, and went into exile.[7]

Exile and death

Following the U.S.-sponsored coup, Fortuny took refuge in the Mexican embassy for a while, before going into exile.[7] Due to his status as a prominent communist during the Cold War, he was kept under surveillance by the Central Intelligence Agency. During his exile, he spent time in Brazil, Uruguay, and Cuba.[7] He died in Mexico City at age 89, from heart failure.

References
  1. Ibarra, Carlos Figueroa (June 2006). "The culture of terror and Cold War in Guatemala". Journal of Genocide Research. 8 (2): 191–208. doi:10.1080/14623520600703081.
  2. Cullather, Nicholas (1994). "Operation PBSUCCESS: The United States and Guatemala 1952–1954" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  3. "Fortuny, José Manuel (1916–)". Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Encyclopedia.com. 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. Gleijeses, Piero (2009). "The Death of Francisco Arana: A Turning Point in the Guatemalan Revolution". Journal of Latin American Studies. 22 (3): 536. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00020940.
  5. Kinzer, Stephen; Schlesinger, Stephen (1 June 1982). Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. Sinclair Browne. pp. 55–59. ISBN 978-0-86300-023-2. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. MacLeod, Philip S. "A Brief History of the Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo: A Companion to an Exhibition of the Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo Papers". Archived from the original on 12 June 2003.
  7. Ferreira, Roberto Garcia (13 September 2010). "José Manuel Fortuny: un comunista clandestino en Montevideo, 1958". Jornadas de Investigación de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (in Spanish).
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