 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Gabriel García MorenoName: Gabriel García MorenoBirth Date: December 24, 1821 Death Date: August 6, 1875 Place of Birth: Guayaquil, Ecuador Nationality: Ecuadorian Gender: Male Occupations: politician, president, senator, mayor Gabriel García Moreno Gabriel García Moreno (1821-1875) was an Ecuadorian political leader whose dynamic leadership brought stability and improvement to his country. Though mostly governing as a dictator, he broke the power of the military and raised the influence of the Catholic Church.On Dec. 24, 1821, Gabriel García Moreno was born in Guayaquil. His father, Gabriel García Gómez, was a Spaniard; his mother, Mercedes Moreno, belonged to one of the most distinguished and oldest families of that city.At 15 García Moreno was sent to Quito to complete his education. At 17 he received minor orders in the Church; but he soon abandoned the idea of an ecclesiastical career and switched to law, in which he received his doctorate in 1844. In the meantime, his interest in politics arose. He was an admirer of Vicente Rocafuerte, whom he followed into opposition against Gen. Juan José Flores.In 1846 …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…were the most positive of his record as chief executive. With practically no visible opposition, he concentrated on bettering higher education and building Ecuador's first railway. In a country that lacked highways, the construction of the paved road from Quito to the coast was of special significance.On the expiration of his term in 1875, García Moreno chose to succeed himself. Four days before his new inauguration, on August 6, he was murdered by a disappointed Colombian office seeker. Further Reading For an interesting discussion of García Moreno see Lewis Hanke, ed., Readings in Latin American History: Selected Articles from the Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 2 (1966). Biographies of García Moreno are also in Clinton Herring, A History of Latin America from the Beginnings to the Present (1955; 3d ed. 1968); James Fred Rippy, Latin America: A Modern History (1958; rev. ed. 1968); and George I. Blanksten, Ecuador: Constitutions and Caudillos (1964). |