page_title: History of Guatemala
section_title: National power plant Jurun Marinalá
hierarchical_section_title: History of Guatemala / 20th century / Presidency of Jacobo Árbenz Guzman (1951–1954) / National power plant Jurun Marinalá
caption_attribution_description: Español: Afiche promocional de la hidroeléctrica de Jurun Marinalá
context_page_description: The history of Guatemala begins with the Maya civilization, which was among those that flourished in their country. The country's modern history began with the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in 1524.
  Most of the great Classic-era Maya cities of the Petén Basin region, in the northern lowlands, had been abandoned by the year 1000 AD. The states in the Belize central highlands flourished until the 1525 arrival of Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado. Called "The Invader" by the Maya peoples, he immediately began subjugating the Indian states.
  Guatemala was part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala for nearly 330 years.This Captaincy included what is now Chiapas in Mexico and the modern countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The Capitation became independent in 1821 and became a part of the First Mexican Empire until 1823. From 1824 it was a part of the Federal Republic of Central America. When the Republic dissolved in 1841, Guatemala became fully independent.
  In the late 19th and early 20th century, Guatemala's potential for agricultural exploitation attracted several foreign companies, most prominently the United Fruit Company.
context_section_description: The Jurun Marinalá electric power generation plant was planned as the first national hydroelectric power plant in Guatemala. The goal was to disrupt the monopoly of the Electric Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Bond and Share (Ebasco), which did not make use of indigenous water resources, but ran fossil fuel-powered plants, thus creating a drain on foreign currency reserves. Owing to its massive economic importance, construction continued beyond the Árbenz presidency. The plant was finally completed under President Julio César Méndez Montenegro in 1968. It is located in the village of Agua Blanca, inside El Salto, Escuintla.
caption: Marinalá power plant advertisement during Arbenz government.
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