Garcia Moreno

Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García y Moreno y Morán de Buitrón (December 24, 1821 – August 6, 1875) was an Ecuadorian politician who twice served as President of Ecuador (1859-1865 and 1869-1875) and was assassinated during his second term, after being elected to a third term.[1] He is noted for his conservatism, Catholic religious perspective and rivalry with liberal strongman Eloy Alfaro. Under his administration, Ecuador became a leader in science and higher education within Latin America. In addition to the advances in education and science, he was noted for economically and agriculturally advancing the country, as well as for his staunch opposition to corruption, even giving his own salary to charity.[2]

Gabriel Garcia Moreno was born in 1821, the son of Gabriel García y Gómez, a Spanish merchant, and María de las Mercedes Moreno y Morán de Buitrón, a member of a wealthy aristocratic criollo family in Ecuador's main port, Guayaquil. Garcia Moreno studied theology and law in the University of Quito. Thinking he had a vocation to the priesthood, he received minor orders and the tonsure; but his closest friends and his own interests convinced him to pursue a secular career. Graduating in 1844, he was admitted to the bar. Starting his career as both lawyer and journalist (opposed to the Liberal government in power) he made little headway. In 1849, he embarked on a two-year visit to Europe to see first hand the effects of the 1848 revolution. He made a second trip in 1854-56.

He returned home to find his country in the grip of strident anti-clericals; he was elected a senator and joined the opposition. Although himself a Monarchist (he would have liked to have seen a Spanish prince on the throne) he bowed to circumstances and allowed himself to be made president after a civil war the year after his return---so great had his stint as a senator made his reputation. In 1861, his presidential position was confirmed in a popular election for a four-year term. His successor was deposed by the Liberals in 1867. But two years later he was reelected, and then again in 1875. During his period in office, he propelled his nation forward, all the while uniting her more closely to Catholicism.

Personally pious (he attended Mass, daily, as well as visiting the Blessed Sacrament; he received Holy Communion every Sunday—a rare practice before Pope Pius X—and was active in a sodality), he made it one of the first duties of his government to promote and support Catholicism. Catholicism was the official religion of Ecuador, but by the terms of a new Concordat, the State's power over appointment of bishops inherited from Spain was eliminated at García Moreno's insistence. The 1869 constitution made Catholicism the religion of the State and required that both candidates and voters be Catholic. He was the only ruler in the world to protest the Pope's loss of the Papal States, and two years later had the legislature consecrate Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of his biographers writes that after this public consecration, he was marked for death by German freemasons.[3]

García Moreno generated some animosity with his friendship toward the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). During a period of exile, he helped some displaced Jesuits find refuge in Ecuador. He had also advocated legislation which would outlaw secret societies.[4]

While the politics of his age were extremely convoluted and murky, that he was elected to a second term clearly indicates his popular appeal, both with the Catholic Church and with the masses. His vigorous support of universal literacy and education based on the French model was both controversial and bold.

Through both his parents, García Moreno was descended from noble Spanish families. His father, Gabriel García y Gómez de Tama was a Spaniard from Soria, descended from the house of the Dukes of Osuna, and an official of the Spanish Royal Navy. García Moreno's mother was a member of a wealthy and prominent Spanish-Criollo aristocratic family. Her father was Count of Moreno and Governor-General of Guatemala, before moving to Guayaquil, where he was the Perpetual Military Governor. Among his other relatives were Juan Ignacio Moreno y Maisanove, Archbishop of Toledo and Cardinal Primate of Spain, and his brothers Teodoro Moreno y Maisonave, count of Moreno and justice of the Spanish Supreme Court and Joaquín Moreno y Maisonave, military historian and Chief Justice of the Royal Tribunal of the Military Orders of the Kingdom of Spain.

García Moreno founded the Conservative Party in 1869. He was killed in office by a machete-wielding Colombian named Faustino Rayo. He also lived at the first Hacienda of Ecuador, the Hacienda Guachalá, who leased from 1868 until near his death.

Ecuador after Independence

The coming of independence to Latin America saw the formation of two parties in every country: Liberal and Conservative. Conservatives looked toward Europe, and particularly Spain, for social and political inspiration. They wished to retain the Catholic Church in the position which she had from the first settlement; furthermore, they wanted the great estates to remain like those of Europe—self-contained communities which, despite failing to make a great deal of money for their owners, did build social stability. The Liberals looked to the United States as a guide, wanted separation of Church and State, and wished to turn the great estates into money-making concerns, like factories. These two groups had clashed since independence. The Conservatives produced some notable leaders, like Mexico's Agustín de Iturbide and Guatemala's Rafael Carrera. As the 19th century progressed, both parties were faced with the impact of such inventions as the railroad.

From 1845 to 1860 Ecuador was in a position of near anarchy, barely ruled by a series of fleeting regimes, mostly liberal;

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