Editing Decree 900 (section)

===Changes in political power===
By 1954, more than 3000 CALs had been formed.<ref>Harbour, ''Creating a New Guatemala'' (2008), p. 15.</ref> These organizations, which controlled the distribution of land at a local level, represented a substantial increase in political power for ordinary people and people's organizations such as unions. However, the law also increased the power of the President and of the new national council, the DAN.<ref>Handy, ''The Most Precious Fruit of the Revolution'' (1988) p. 686.</ref>

In 1953, the Supreme Court ruled that the lack of judicial oversight for the reform was unconstitutional, and it blocked any further implementation. Congress, with Árbenz's urging, voted to impeach four judges.<ref>Gleijeses, ''The Agrarian Reform of Jacobo Arbenz'' (1989), pp. 464–465.</ref> This decision provoked anti-government demonstrations, in the course of which one person was killed.<ref name="Handy 1988 p. 693"/>

Historian Douglas Trefzger has reported that the land reform disproportionately benefited [[Ladino people|Ladinos]], relative to [[Amerindian|Indians]].<ref name=Trefzger/> It seems that although the short-lived policies of Decree 900 had a positive effect on indigenous Guatemalans—particularly on their political consciousness—poverty and associated problems persisted.<ref name=Davis>Shelton H. Davis, "The Mayan Movement and National Culture in Guatemala"; in ''Culture and Public Action'', ed. Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton, Stanford University Press (2004).</ref>

The CNCG peasant league, founded in 1950 by activists and members of the teachers' union, grew rapidly during this time and by 1945 was the largest peoples' organization in the country. The second largest was the CGTG, a rural labor union.<ref>Handy, ''The Most Precious Fruit of the Revolution'' (1988) pp. 694–695.</ref>

Efforts were made to win military support for Decree 900. These included the provision of incentives for peasants to join the army, as well as attempts to foster ties between the armed forces and the DAN. Some conflicts did emerge around the country as military leaders and peasant organizers competed for local power. These were ameliorated by new appointments to military positions. But these changes in military structure further upset some officers and contributed to the desertions and defections that allowed the coup to succeed.<ref>Handy, ''The Most Precious Fruit of the Revolution'' (1988) pp. 701–704. "The increasing strength of the peasant league and workers' federation in rural areas, coupled with the disarray apparent in the military's rural apparatus, raised grave fears among many officers over their ability to control these organizations. The support they received from the president and the apparent impunity with which local affiliates of these organizations broke the law, invaded property not affected by Decree 900, and provoked escalating unrest in the army's traditional domain prompted much bitterness."</ref>