Mario Sandoval Alarcón (May 18, 1923 – April 17, 2003) was a

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as vice president of Guatemala from 1974 to 1978 under Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García. A member and founder of the political party, Movimiento de Liberacion Nacional, Sandoval served as President of the Congress from 1970 to 1974.

Biography

He is the founder in 1960 of the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional (MLN) which was a nationalist, anti-communist political party. As part of the MLN, he played a role in the widespread murders committed by the Mano Blanca death squadrons. In 1954, he helped support colonel Carlos Castillo's coup against Jacobo Árbenz. He served as President of the Congress from 1970 to 1974, when he was sworn in as the Vice President. Sandoval served as

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

from 1 July 1974 to 1 July 1978 during the presidency of Kjell Laugerud. During his time as vicepresident he helped president Kjell after the 1976 earthquake that affected a great part of the country. In 1982, he placed second in that year's presidential election. He was unsuccessful again three years later, in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. Sandoval was a leader of the World Anti-Communist League (WACL). His aversion to communism and methods for fighting against it was passed on to some of his followers, one of whom was Roberto D'Aubuisson, founder of El Salvador's Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party.

References

1923 births 2003 deaths Presidents of the Congress of Guatemala Vice presidents of Guatemala People of the Guatemalan Civil War National Liberation Movement (Guatemala) politicians {{Guatemala-politician-stub