page_title: Manuel María Orellana Contreras
section_title: Presidency
hierarchical_section_title: Manuel María Orellana Contreras / Presidency
caption_attribution_description: Español: Manuel Maria Orellana (centro) y familiares en Barcelona, aproximadamente en 1938.
context_page_description: Manuel María Orellana Contreras was a Guatemalan army officer and politician, and from 17 to 31 December 1930, de facto interim President of Guatemala, after leading a coup d'état that ended Baudilio Palma interim presidency. Palma, in turn, had been appointed president only four days earlier, when president Lázaro Chacón González suffered a stroke and was forced to resign. At the moment the coup took place, orellana Contreras was commander of the San Rafael de Matamoros Fort in Guatemala City.
context_section_description: Once in power, Orellana Contreras reformed the Cabinet and worked on restructuring the Guatemalan military bases.  However, given the large investments that American companies had in Guatemala -especially the United Fruit Company, the United States Secretary of State Henry Stimson publicly denounced Orellana as an unconstitutional leader and demanded his removal. Realizing that the Americans would not recognize his government, Orellana resigned on December 29.  Stimson sent Ambassador Sheltom Whitehouse to tell Orellana Contreras that his country would not be dealing with the new Guatemalan president whatsoever. Whitehouse pressed the National Assembly to force Orellana Contreras to resign, taking advantage of Orellana's lack of political experience. and the American government needed a stable regime in Guatemala.
caption: General Orellana Contreras (center) with some relatives in Barcelona, ca. 1938.
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