Background
Eloy Alfaro was born at Montecristi, Ecuador, June 25, 1842.
Eloy Alfaro was born at Montecristi, Ecuador, June 25, 1842.
After leading an unsuccessful revolt in Ecuador in 1865, he was forced to live in Panama until the death of President García Moreno in 1875. From 1875 to 1895 he engaged in a number of unsuccessful revolutionary movements. In 1895 he overthrew President Luis Cordero, called a constitutional convention, and in 1897 was elected president of Ecuador. He ended the tie between church and state established by Moreno, provided for religious freedom, civil marriages, and education under state control, and invited Protestant missionaries into the country. He completed the Guayaquil-to-Quito railroad and in other ways improved economic conditions. At the end of his presidency he was succeeded by General Plaza Gutiérrez, who in turn was succeeded by Lisado García. The latter succession angered Alfaro, and he again revolted and overthrew the government, becoming president a second time in 1907. Alfaro was known as an apostle of Pan-Americanism. Not content with political conditions at the expiration of his second term, he revolted in 1911, but was captured and imprisoned. On Jan. 28, 1912, he was dragged from his cell by opponents and murdered.
He ended the tie between church and state established by Moreno, provided for religious freedom, civil marriages, and education under state control, and invited Protestant missionaries into the country.