Arévalo's administration was marked by unprecedented relatively free political life during his six-year term. Arévalo, an educator and philosopher, understood the need for advancement in individuals, communities, and nations by practical means. Before his presidency, Arévalo had been an exiled university professor. He returned to Guatemala to help in the reconstruction efforts of the new post-Ubíco government, especially in the areas of social security. He also helped draft a new constitution which granted the people civil rights and liberties they had never previously known. His philosophy of "spiritual socialism," referred to as "Arevalismo", may be considered less an economic system than a movement toward the liberation of the imagination of oppressed Latin America. In the post-World War II period, the governments of the United States and other countries misinterpreted Arevalismo as communism, serving as a cause for unease and alarm, which garnered support from neighboring satellite "caudillos" such as Anastasio Somoza García.