On Tuesday May 25, 1993, Serrano illegally suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court, imposed censorship, and tried to restrict civil freedom.

[citation needed] This was combined with international pressure (the Organization of American States condemned the autogolpe[2]) and the army's enforcement of the decisions of the Constitutional Court, which ruled against the attempted takeover.

[2] However, Espina was judged by the Constitutional Court to have been involved in the coup as well, and Congress replaced him with Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de León.

[2] In the early morning hours of Tuesday May 25, 1993, President Jorge Serrano Elías suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Congress, disbanded the Supreme Court, and declared himself dictator for the next two-and-a-half years.

Furthermore, his move had the unintended effect of catalyzing opposition not only to his leadership but to the whole structure of backroom military power that he had hoped would support him, bringing together an unlikely coalition of progressive business interests, human rights groups, and Maya activists that would play an important role in the 1996 Peace Accord negotiations.