The following statement was issued by the URNG (National Revolutionary Unity of Guatemala) General Command.
The URNG General Command and all its components commemorate the civil and military movement that on October 20, 1944, put an end to the dictatorship and opened up new possibilities for democracy.
1. Never before in Guatemala's history had there been a period of such political, economic, social and international change for our people. The most important conquests and achievements of this period remain with us today; they have to be revitalised and projected into the future.
We had 10 years of democracy which, for the first and only time in our country, established a regime with broad democratic freedoms. The Guatemalan people's individual and social rights were respected, their economic and social rights were recognised and enforced. Guatemala's national sovereignty and dignity were defended and maintained.
The violent interruption of that promising democratic process was one reason our movement began. It legitimises our movement and makes us relevant today.
With the destruction of the October revolution, the way was opened to militarise our country, its state and society, its structures and its institutions. The present Guatemalan state — centralised, exclusive, discriminatory and counter-revolutionary — was initiated by foreign intervention.
2. Since June 1954 our country has been suffering from an alarming lack of social development. Instead of being solved many of the most pressing economic problems of the people have become deeper and more acute.
Guatemala is today an underdeveloped and backward country, with polarised socioeconomic inequalities. The people are subjected to super-exploitation, oppression and discrimination. They have been victims of ongoing and atrocious repression by the state.
Guatemalan revolutionaries have our roots in the October revolution. We claim its best achievements and goals, and with the ongoing political and miliary struggle that we
have been waging for 34 years, we provide a historical continuation and ongoing perspectives to its gains, which were so violently ended.
The essential content and historical tasks of the October revolution are still relevant today. Together with the people we commemorate the 50th anniversary of that patriotic and popular movement.
Now we aim to go forward, to build a new nation, to establish a real and participatory democracy with the involvement of all the Guatemalan people.