Eloy Alfaro
| José Eloy Alfaro Delgado | |
|---|---|
 |
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| President of Ecuador | |
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In office January 16, 1906 – August 12, 1911 |
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| Preceded by | Lizardo García |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Freile Zaldumbide |
| President of Ecuador | |
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In office June 5, 1895 – August 31, 1901 |
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| Vice President | Manuel Benigno Cueva Carlos Freire Zaldumbide |
| Preceded by | Vicente Lucio Salazar |
| Succeeded by | Leónidas Plaza |
| Supreme Chief of Manabí & Esmeraldas, in rebellion | |
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In office February 1883 – October 11, 1883 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 25, 1842 Montecristi, Ecuador |
| Died | January 28, 1912 (aged 69) Quito, Ecuador |
| Nationality | Ecuadorian |
| Spouse(s) | Ana Paredes y Arosemena |
| Signature |  |
José Eloy Alfaro Delgado (June 25, 1842 – January 28, 1912) served as President of Ecuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911. He became one of the strongest opponents of pro-Catholic conservative President Gabriel Garcia Moreno (1821–1875). For his central role in the Liberal Revolution of 1895 and for having fought conservatism for almost 30 years, he is known as the Viejo Luchador ("Old Warrior").
His major legacies are considered to be national unity, and the integrity of Ecuador's borders; the increased secularization of the country; and the modernization of Ecuadorian society through the introduction of new ideas, education, and systems of public transport and communication. He completed the engineering feat of the Transandino railway linking Guayaquil with Quito. The Ecuadorian Army's military college bears his name, as does the flagship of the Ecuadorian Navy. His effigy appeared on the Ecuadorian 50-cent coin from the 2000 issue.
Alfaro was born in Montecristi, (Manabi) on June 25, 1842. His father was don Manuel Alfaro y González, a Spanish Republican native of Cervera del Río Alhama, La Rioja, Spain who arrived in Ecuador as a political exile; his mother was doña María Natividad Delgado López.
Alfaro received his primary education in his place of birth. After graduation he dedicated himself to helping his father with his business negotiations. During his youth he aligned himself with anticlerical liberalism, a doctrine later embodied in the Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party. He fought against Presidents García Moreno, Borrero, Veintemilla and Camaño, and as a result he is traditionally known as the "Viejo Luchador" (Old Warrior). Eloy Alfaro experienced many serious difficulties in the various campaigns he initiated against the conservative Ecuadorian governments. He spent his fortune, acquired with the help of his Panamanian wife, Ana Paredes Arosemena, in those battles . Nine children were born of their marriage: Bolívar, Esmeraldas, Colombia, Colón, Bolívar(2), Ana María, América, Olmedo, and Colón Eloy; Rafael was born out of wedlock.
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Wikipedia