Eloy Alfaro

José Eloy Alfaro Delgado ( born June 25, 1842 in Montecristi, Manabí, † January 28, 1912 in Quito ) was an Ecuadorian military and politicians. He was twice (1895-1901 and 1906-1911) President of Ecuador. Considered as the most prominent liberal politicians in the history of his country and a central figure in the political life at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. He founded in 1878 the Liberal Party, the Liberal Party of Ecuador, who played a central role in the Ecuadorian political landscape of the 20th century under different names.

Origin and political- military activities before 1895

Alfaro came from a wealthy family. His father was a politically exiled Spaniards, who worked as an exporter of Panama hats, his mother a native Indian.

The young Eloy devoted himself first to the trade, before he turned to at a young age of politics and military opposition to conservative governments. He had stood since his youth in contact with the poor farm workers in his region and argued for the improvement of their living conditions and against the quasi- feudal ownership structures especially on the cocoa plantations. This secured him for his entire political and military career strong support in his homeland. As a liberal, he fought since 1864 against the conservative President Gabriel García Moreno, who ruled until 1875, but spent most of the time forced to be in exile in Panama. There he married Ana Paredes Arosemena 1865, the indigenous, with whom he had nine children who had names like Bolívar, Esmeraldas, América and Olmedo.

In 1876 he returned to Ecuador and then followed in his newly formed government after the coup d'etat of the liberal General Ignacio de Veintemilla against Antonio Borrero one. But shortly afterwards he went from Veintemilla disappointed again into exile in Panama, from where he returned in 1878 to combat Veintimilla military. Alfaro was captured and exiled again in the following year.

1882 Alfaro returned again secretly back to Ecuador to fight Veintimilla. In 1883 he was proclaimed in his home province of Manabi to the Supreme Leader ( jefe supremo ) and united with other usurpers in the fight against residing in Quito Veintimilla. They managed to sell 1883 Veintimilla from the capital in January. In July 1883 Veintimilla resigned. After initially ruled a provisional government and then two interim president, the end of November, the liberal Catholic José María Plácido Caamano became president. Alfaro did not agree with the government, and rose from Manabí. But he could not defeat the president. After the military defeat in a naval battle against Jaramijó he fled to Peru. He then moved on to looking for financial and ideological support in the fight for liberalism in Ecuador throughout America.

" Liberal Revolution" and presidencies Alfaro

Overview

After the coup of June 8, 1895 marked the beginning of the stage of the Revolución Liberal in the Ecuadorian history, Alfaro in Guayaquil head of state ( jefe supremo ) has been called and returned a second time back to Ecuador to perform the duties. 1897 elected him a Constituent Assembly for constitutional president, his first tenure lasted until 1901. The selected with Alfaro's support successor Leonidas Plaza Gutierrez, a partisan of Alfaro's Liberal Party, had been estranged during the election preparations Alfaro, but ruled largely in Alfaro's senses. 1906, supported by Plaza Lizardo García was elected president and overthrown shortly afterwards after a short military Kampa Gene Alfaro. Alfaro was then re- proclaimed head of state and in 1907 elected a new Constituent Assembly to the President, ( the twelfth in the hitherto 77 -year history of the country) also adopted a liberal, secularizing Ecuador Constitution.

Policy program

During his reign times he effected the Liberal revolution, a revolution of the Ecuadorian political system from the inside, which was maintained during the tenure of his first successor Plaza Gutiérrez. Alfaro was responsible for the definitive separation of church and state, confiscated church property on a large scale, secularized education and led a religious freedom and civil marriage. He abolished the death penalty. Alfaro was also a decisive boost to the completion of commenced under García Moreno rail link between Quito and Guayaquil (which came to Colta Lake in his first presidential term and was completed in 1908), founded several educational institutions, devoted himself more than his predecessors of the Indians - and the woman question and improved the legal position of both groups.

Fall 1911

At the end of his second term Alfaro Emilio Estrada suggested as a presidential candidate who was also elected in 1911. Alfaro wanted this force to resign even before taking office, that he might be proclaimed again to the head of state. Estrada refused this request and military units in Quito support him and obtained the overthrow Alfaro on August 11. Alfaro again fled to Panama. After a brief transitional presidency of the Senate President Carlos uncovering Zaldumbide Estrada was sworn in September.

Retrying the seizure of power, imprisonment and death

As Estrada died unexpectedly in December 1911 to Alfaro went again to Ecuador to regain power. He was arrested and detained in a prison in Quito. On January 18, 1912 violent demonstrators broke into the jail and killed Eloy Alfaro and four of his colleagues ( including his brother Medardo ). They dragged his body into the Ejido Park, where they burned him publicly.

Afterlife

The city of Canton and the parish Durán in Guayaquil wear officially named Eloy Alfaro, as a canton in the province of Esmeraldas. The Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabi Manta and he founded Escuela Superior Militar further military school Eloy Alfaro, Quito are named after him. Besides the numerous streets and squares named after him in Ecuador since August 2006, a court in New York City (Jackson Heights, Queens ) named after Eloy Alfaro.

In addition to the successor parties of the Liberal Party rejects Founded in 1972, liberal party Frente Radical Alfarista, the 1997/98 Ecuadorian President presented with Fabián Alarcón Rivera, just as his name and his ideas on how the operating in the 1980s guerrilla group Alfaro Vive, ¡ Carajo! .

1991 acquired the Ecuadorian Navy frigate of the British Leander - class (Type 12) HMS Penelope and named it in his honor in Presidente Eloy Alfaro to.

On 26 September 2003 Eloy Alfaro was appointed by decree of the then Vice-President Alfredo Palacio as a national hero in Ecuador.

On 27 November 2005, the Ecuadorian TV station Ecuavisa announced that Eloy Alfaro was elected to the Ecuadorian version of the transmitted than in Germany Our best TV format with 33.39 % of the 157,000 votes cast for the " best Ecuadorian ". He placed himself in front of race walking Olympic gold medalist Jefferson Pérez, writer Juan Montalvo, former President José María Velasco Ibarra and women activist Matilde Hidalgo de Procel.

From November 2007 to July 2008 was held in Ciudad Alfaro, a complex of buildings in Alfaro's home town of Montecristi, the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador in 2007 /08.