By Germán Duarte Castañeda
500 days after the coup d’état against General Fernando Romeo Lucas García, which occurred on March 23, 1982, the people of Guatemala once again witnessed a similar event yesterday, at 9 a.m., as General José Efraín Ríos Montt was relieved of his position as president. A soldier died and several civilians were injured when, at around 11:20 a.m., inexplicably, a grenade exploded; Then, there were machine gun fire on the Portal del Comercio.
In effect, the question was: “What is happening…? There is a coup d’état…!”; “Look, look at the planes, making dives over the presidential house…!”, they commented, curious about the deployment of troops and tanks.
Fifteen minutes of panic, hysteria and confusion occurred yesterday, August 8, at 11 a.m., when two columns of soldiers were heading to the National Palace and, upon reaching the corner of Portal, on 7th. avenue, were greeted with bursts of machine gunfire. Panic gripped pedestrians and drivers, leading to a scramble. Grenades and mortars came out.
Two reporters from Prensa Libre, Domingo Chiapas and myself, Raúl Meoño, had to throw themselves on the ground, since the shots hit cars, warehouses and frontispieces. A member of the Army fell mortally wounded in the Portal del Comercio.
Statements by Mejía Víctores
“The Army is not the defender of particular or group interests, whether economic, political or religious,” declared General Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, head of state, who assured that “it was only a change of government.”
“We understand democracy not as a form of maintaining privileges for traditional minorities, who through economic power have profoundly influenced political activity, but rather the opportunity for all people to choose freely. We solemnly commit to scheduling the electoral process,” added General Mejía.
*With information from notes published in edition 9890
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This note is part of the commemorative series of our diamond wedding, it is a tour of news that marked the history of Guatemala, with original texts and images from each era, as a reliable testimony of our mission of service.