A member of the Nationalist Liberal Party, his presidency was cut short by a coup d'état orchestrated by the commander of the National Guard, General Anastasio Somoza García.
He served as President of the lower chamber of the National Congress of Nicaragua,[2] and as Minister of Public Education, Interior and Foreign Affairs.
The elections were widely believed to be rigged, and one of the conditions for Argüello’s victory was reputedly the maintenance of Somoza as Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard.
There were even rumours that president Argüello, without taking into account the Commander of the National Guard, had attempted to ally with factions of the military who were dissatisfied with Somoza, in particular with the young Aguirre Baca brothers, Francisco and Horacio.
On 26 May 1947 general Somoza led a coup d'état against the government, accusing it of conspiring to remove him as commander of the National Guard.
The Congress declared that Argüello was unable to govern and removed him of the position, accusing him of attempting to undermine army discipline.