Galves, Juan Manuel

In 1913, Galves graduated from the National Autonomous University of Honduras with a law degree. In 1914, he was appointed judge in the city of La Ceiba . In 1924, Galves was elected to parliament as a deputy from Tegucigalpa. In 1924-1929, he served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Justice in the government, first under General Vicente Toasts Carrasco , and from 1925 under the presidency of Miguel Paz Barahona . From 1933 to 1948, under the dictatorship of Tibursio Carias Andino , Galves was the Minister of Defense, Navy and Aviation.

In 1948, Galves became a candidate for the National Party of Honduras in the presidential election . The elections were held under dictatorship, while the opposition Liberal Party of Honduras was again allowed, but having assessed its chances, it boycotted them. As a result, Galves received 99.85% of them (254 802 votes) ^[1] .

As President, Galves demonstrated greater independence than was expected of him. Several areas of the Carias administration’s policies were continued and expanded, such as road construction and the development of coffee exports. By 1953, nearly a quarter of the government’s budget was set aside for road construction. Galves also, continuing the policy of the previous administration, reduced the country's external debt and finally paid off British bonds. Foreign companies that grew fruits in Honduras enjoyed significant government support: for example, the United Fruit Company received in 1949 a very lucrative contract for a period of 25 years.

At the same time, the policy of the state under Galves differed from the policy of its predecessor. Attention was paid to education, which was allocated a larger share of the national budget than before. The law on income tax was actually enacted, although its enforcement was sporadic at best. The most notable changes have occurred in the political arena of Honduras: freedom of the press has been restored, the Liberal Party has been legalized, and the creation of public and political organizations, including workers, has been allowed. The labor market was increasingly regulated: an eight-hour working day was established and paid leave for workers, the employer’s liability for employee injuries associated with work was determined, and provisions were introduced for the employment of women and children ^[2] .

The last months of Galves’s presidency have been tense. In May 1954, workers in the mining, brewing, and textile industries at The Coca-Cola Company , Standard Fruit Company, and United Fruit Company declared a 10-day strike (May 5–14) ^[3] . On May 21, a collective agreement was reached between more than 11,000 workers and the management of Standard Fruit Company. This news on the same day led to the fact that the number of workers on strike against the United Fruit Company increased from 25,000 to 100,000 ^[3] . These events caused Galves to contact the US President Eisenhower’s administration on May 23, 1954, with a request to prepare his US Marine Corps to land his armed forces in Honduras if the situation breaks out of control. The Americans took this appeal seriously, deploying two warships in the Gulf of Honduras ^[4] . In addition, the United States deployed military forces in Honduras to carry out PBSUCCESS operations in neighboring Guatemala. After a long struggle and public opinion, strongly opposed to the United Fruit Company, on July 9, 1954, an agreement was reached between 100,000 workers on strike and the company’s management ^[3] .

From September 26 to 30, a tropical storm Hilda struck Honduras, killing 29 Hondurans, leaving about 3,000 of them homeless and causing some damage to the banana plantations. The latter led to the dismissal of the United Fruit Company from about 10,000 of its 100,000 workers, which in turn prompted Galves to again turn to the US government for help. The Eisenhower Administration responded to this request.

Despite the difficult and politically tempting circumstances favorable for the imposition of a successor, Galves still did not interfere with the planned free elections held on October 10, 1954. They won the candidate from the Liberal Party, Ramon Vileda Morales , but on December 5 of the same year he was removed from office by the then Vice President Julio Lozano Diaz . Galves at this time healed the heart abroad.