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30-549: The quetzal was introduced in 1925 during the term of President José María Orellana , whose image appears on the obverse of the one-quetzal bill. It replaced the Guatemalan peso at the rate of 60 pesos = 1 quetzal. Until 1987, the quetzal was pegged to and domestically equal to the United States dollar . In 1925, coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10 centavos, 1 ⁄ 4 , 1 ⁄ 2 and 1 quetzal were introduced, although

60-471: A coup d'état against president Carlos Herrera who had resisted to approve the concessions granted to the United Fruit Company and its subsidiaries by his predecessor, Manuel Estrada Cabrera . Orellana had the help of several army officers, among them general Jorge Ubico . On 5 December 1921, Orellana was appointed as Interim President , and eventually became Constitutional President after winning

90-476: A deep aversion towards then Guatemalan President Rafael Carrera and then Aycinena family that worked closely to him, and was one of their harshest critics; in spite of it, Carrera esteemed Montúfar deeply and, even though he always had Montufar at hand, never did him any harm. After Carrera rule got reinforced in 1854, Montúfar left Guatemala for Costa Rica, he was Magistrate, Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1856 to 1857 and from 1870 to 1873, and vice-chancellor of

120-464: A special edition that day. These strange circumstances led to the suspicion that he was poisoned. General Lázaro Chacón assumed as interim President and immediately lifted Martial Law and allowed private newspaper to be published again. direct central rule, 1826–27 Lorenzo Mont%C3%BAfar y Rivera Lorenzo Montúfar y Rivera (March 11, 1823 – March 21, 1898) was a Guatemalan politician and lawyer. Superb leader and speaker, helped

150-766: The Avenida Reforma ; the sculptor was the renowned Guatemalan artist Rafael Rodríguez Padilla , and this was the first bronze sculpture produced in Guatemala. Owner of vast culture, Montufar was corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Language . "The laws that determine the relationships of men with the Creator, do not need the approval of the civil government. " Lorenzo Montúfar "For our work in politics to be solid and durable, we need to build it accurately from its foundations up, so that it can stand on

180-603: The Central Bank of Guatemala in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 100 quetzales, with 1 ⁄ 2 quetzal notes added in 1933. In 1946, the Bank of Guatemala took over the issuance of paper money , with the first issues being overprints on notes of the Central Bank. Except for the introduction of 50 quetzal notes in 1967, the denominations of banknotes remained unchanged until 1 ⁄ 2 and 1 quetzal coins replaced notes at

210-483: The Constitution; the main reason for such decision was that "insidious and unpatriotic activities of certain elements" tended "to disrupt the peace and development of the country", which, at once, made it impossible to solve the national economic problem. Although El Imparcial was not circulating regularly in the previous days -due to a government boycott-, after 26 May it ceased publication indefinitely. Thereafter, only

240-712: The Guatemalan capital with state honors. José María Orellana Pinto was born in El Jícaro ; he was the son of Esteban Orellana and Leonora Pinto. Orellana had a military career becoming General of the Guatemalan Army. He was elected to the Guatemalan legislature on several occasions, as a member of the Liberal Party, and was also Chief of Staff of the President Estrada Cabrera; when serving as such, on 29 April 1907, he

270-669: The University of Saint Thomas, where he taught international law and other subjects. He also held the position of Minister of Costa Rica in Great Britain. In politics he was characterized by his liberal ideology and his extreme anti-clericalism , especially against the Jesuits . After the triumph of the Liberal Reform of 1871, he returned to Guatemala when Justo Rufino Barrios started his term in office in 1873. Eloquent orator and debater,

300-399: The contract; after Herrera was overthrown, Orellana ratified the contract on 10 March 1922. The Guatemalan Congress issued the following laws during his term in office: On 25 May 1926, El Imparcial -a private newspaper- had published a news flash: Martial law enacted which referred to executive decree 916, in which President Orellana had suspended the individual guarantees contained in

330-405: The early morning of May 22, 1898. Despite being his passing expected by his fellow Guatemalans -since he had been visibly ill for a while-, there was deep sadness in the capital city. There were large demonstrations at his funeral, and government officials praised him in the local newspapers. A hundred years after his birth, the government of José María Orellana erected a monument to his memory at

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360-511: The election victory, my government will be based on strict adherence to the Constitution; the law would be the law and anyone who has acquired some responsibility, will have to answer for it before the relevant courts. A firm and righteous compliance with the constitutional provisions shall be the standard of my conduct as president ». « Very well » said general Barillas, and both parted cordially. Barillas then brought in Dr. Montúfar and interrogated him in

390-520: The elections the following year. During his term in office, he ratified concessions that the government of Estrada Cabrera had made to the United Fruit Company (UFCO) and that Herrera had refused to ratify. He also encouraged the creation of a tripartite republic formed by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador , but this was unsuccessful. In 1923, in celebration of the birth centennial of liberal writer and ideologist Dr. Lorenzo Montúfar y Rivera ,

420-483: The end of the 1990s. In the top-right corner of the obverse face of each banknote, the value is displayed in Mayan numerals , representing Guatemala's cultural history. The Bank of Guatemala has introduced a polymer banknote of 1 quetzal on August 20, 2007, followed by a 5 quetzal polymer banknote on November 14, 2011. Jos%C3%A9 Mar%C3%ADa Orellana José María Orellana Pinto (11 July 1872 – 26 September 1926)

450-660: The friendliest of smiles, said: «Mr. Lainfiesta: you are one of the candidates in the upcoming elections and perhaps the more likely to win. Therefore, I would like to know what your attitude and your political system of government will be, if you get to win. Especially, I would like to know your attitude about my person; because I have made my mistakes, I do not deny it. I was a simple worker at my carpentry when General Justo Rufino Barrios sent for me to be appointed second presidential designate. I would therefore, Mr. Lainfiesta, know what conduct you will observe towards me." Mr. Lainfiesta said: « General Barillas: if luck would favor me with

480-568: The government erected a monument to his memory in Avenida Reforma . Gum raw material extraction in the northern department of Petén was sold to Percy W. Shufeldt, who carried out the operation without paying taxes; unlike his predecessor—Carlos Herrera—Orellana gave favorable contracts such as the Shufeldt one to foreign companies. Another examples was the Electric Company, which had been expropriated from German shareholders after World War I , and

510-428: The government of general Manuel Barillas -where Father Arroyo was serving as Foreign Secretary and Secretary of Education-. Therefore, he then was rejected by both liberal and conservative Guatemalans. Towards the end of his life, but with all of his will and power still intact, he ran for office in the 1892 presidential elections. It was the first election in Guatemala that allowed the candidates to make propaganda in

540-599: The liberal regime of Justo Rufino Barrios , served in the Guatemalan legislature, taught in the College of Law of the Universidad Nacional de Guatemala and, towards the end of his life, was a presidential candidate himself losing to general José María Reyna Barrios . He was also Foreign Secretary of Costa Rica in 1856 and from 1870 to 1873, and President of University of Saint Thomas, also in Costa Rica. Montúfar y Rivera

570-460: The local newspapers. The candidates who ran for office were Barillas Bercian was unique among all liberal presidents of Guatemala between 1871 and 1944: he handed over power to his successor peacefully. When election time approached, he sent for the three Liberal candidates to ask them what their government plan would be. The following anecdote recounts better what happened then: First arrived lawyer Francisco Lainfiesta, and General Barillas, with

600-522: The losing candidates, Barillas gave them checks to cover the costs of their presidential campaigns. Reyna Barrios, of course, received nothing, but he went on to become President on March 15, 1892. "After noble effort and struggle without a second, At last the glorious Lean back against ... Your desire is fulfilled: the simiento Germina and deep groove » Alirio Diaz Guerra New York City, 1898 Montufar died in Guatemala City during

630-401: The loss of Soconusco, which saw thousands of miles stripped from Guatemala territory with the consent of both president and cabinet members. This position earned him the exile; Barrios -on the advice of Father Angel Maria Arroyo, Montúfar old personal friend and now one of Barrios' favorites- expelled him from Guatemala, and then, after the death of Barrios in 1885, he was forbidden from return by

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660-488: The majority of the 1 quetzal coins were withdrawn from circulation and melted. 1 ⁄ 2 and 2 centavo coins were added in 1932. Until 1965, coins of 5 centavos and above were minted in 72% silver. 1 ⁄ 2 and 1 quetzal coins were reintroduced in 1998 and 1999, respectively. The coins currently in circulation are disc-shaped and include Guatemala's national coat of arms on the obverse. The coins, and their reverse designs are: The first banknotes were issued by

690-415: The official news outlets, such as Diario de Centro América and El Guatemalteco , could circulate, carrying irrelevant information. The story took a sudden turn on Sunday 26 September when, at 0:15 pm, Orellana died during a vacation trip to Antigua Guatemala ; he was in a room at Hotel Manchén. "A violent angina attack ended the life of our illustrious president," explained Diario de Centro America in

720-424: The same or similar way as he had done Mr. Lainfiesta. Dr. Montúfar responded in similar terms as Lainfiesta, stressing his claims to obedience of the Constitution and strict enforcement. Finally general Reyna Barrios came in; when in the midst of pleasant conversation, General Barillas repeated his question, and Reyna replied, with a sincere smile: « We should not even talk about that, general; because you and I are

750-423: The same. Rest assured that I will know how to respect and protect you. » And then both shook hands with effusion. By the election period, the first two days of voting favored Lainfiesta. But by the third day, a huge column of Quetzaltenango and Totonicapán Indigenous people came down from the mountains to vote for general Reyna Barrios. The official agents did their job: Reyna was elected president and, not to offend

780-457: Was a Guatemalan political and military leader. He was chief of staff of President Manuel Estrada Cabrera and President of Guatemala between 1921 and 1926, after overthrowing Conservative Unionist President Carlos Herrera . During his rule the Quetzal was established as the currency of Guatemala. Orellana Pinto died under suspicious circumstances in 1926 at the age of fifty-four. He was buried in

810-426: Was riding alongside the president's coach when the latter suffered a bomb attack -which had been planned by the brothers Avila Echeverría and some of their relatives and friends-. Miraculously, both the president and Orellana were unharmed by the assassination attempt and almost immediately initiated the prosecution of the perpetrators. On 5 December 1921, general Orellana -sponsored by the United Fruit Company - lead

840-637: Was sold to the American Bond and Share Company on 4 May 1922. Orellana promoted the construction of hundreds of kilometers of railways and was pressured by the International Railways of Central America to enforce the Méndez-Williamson railroad contract, signed in 1908 by then president Manuel Estrada Cabrera . When Estrada Cabrera was ousted, IRCA had intended to enact this agreement but the acting president Carlos Herrera refused to implement

870-516: Was the son of Rafael Montúfar y Coronado and Maria del Rosario Rivera. He was married in San José, Costa Rica on January 26, 1851, to Maria de Jesus Madriz Enriquez, the daughter of Juan de los Santos Madriz y Cervantes and Paulina Enríquez Díaz Cabeza de Baca. He graduated as a lawyer from the Pontifica Universidad de San Carlos Borromeo in Guatemala. Member of the Liberal Party, Montúfar had

900-579: Was then Ambassador of Guatemala in Madrid and participated in the legislature that wrote the Constitution of 1879, in which he had outstanding participation. Because of his solid integrity, when he was the Guatemalan Foreign Secretary, he defended Guatemalan territoriality against the aggressiveness of general Justo Rufino Barrios , his ministers and diplomats: first, strongly protested the fact Guatemala had lost Chiapas to Mexico ; and later,

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