First Congress
The party, then under the name Communist Party of Guatemala (Partido Comunista de Guatemala) held its constituent first congress on September 28, 1949. It was founded by the Guatemalan Democratic Vanguard, which had functioned as a fraction within the ruling Revolutionary Action Party for two years. José Manuel Fortuny had been the leader of VDG, and now became general secretary of PCG. At the time of the congress of the party, its membership stood at 43.
An earlier Communist Party of Guatemala had been founded in 1922, but was suppressed in 1932.
In June 1950 PCG started publishing a weekly newspaper, Octubre, which was distributed amongst workers, peasants and intellectuals throughout the country.
In the summer of 1950 a section of the party, led by trade union leader Víctor Manuel Gutiérrez, broke away and formed a separate party, the Guatemalan Revolutionary Workers Party (PROG). PROG made its first public appearance on July 1. The split had been provoked by differences of opinions concerning the social composition of the Central Committee of the party.
Read more about this topic: Guatemalan Party Of Labour
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