Jaime Roldós Aguilera becomes President of Ecuador, 1979

In 1979, political change came to Ecuador with the election of Jaime Roldós Aguilera. Because of his unprecedented support, popularity and support for democracy, the United States sent the First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance to Quito for his inauguration festivities. This election signaled a shift in Ecuadorian politics and to reflect this, Aguilera proposed a new constitution to represent the countries values. The new constitution was the eighteenth constitution in the one hundred and forty nine years since Ecuador gained its independence (Hoge).

Like many Latin American countries, Ecuador has spent the last nine years under both civilian and military dictatorships. In a lot of cases, the United States backed these dictatorships for fear of the alternative. The Cold War was being waged across the globe and communist revolutions began to emerge in many Latin American countries, since Latin America is geographically close to the United States, they worried that communist countries could be a real threat and thus they put military dictatorships in control to ensure allegiance to their own capitalist interests (Chasteen).

This new emerging figure was important in Ecuador because it signaled a shift back to true democracy and had the support of both the United States and Ecuador. Aguilera was a part of the left-of-center “Concentration of Popular Forces” party and against his conservative opponent 68% to 32%. Aguilera was a personable man, traveling to all twenty provinces in Ecuador as well as various other countries, including the United States where he met with President Jimmy Carter and other influential politicians. Despite his popularity, many believed his victory would be short lived and the country would be taken over by the military again (Hoge). Aguilera’s election is interesting as it illustrates a new wave of democracy in Ecuador.

Works Cited:

By WARREN HOGE Special to The New,York Times. 1979. “Lawyer, 38, is Taking the Reins in Ecuador as Army Withdraws: New Constitution Prepared Mrs. Carter Flies to Quito.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Aug 09, 1. https://search-proquest-com.wooster.idm.oclc.org/docview/120753806?accountid=15131.

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire. 4rd edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016.

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roldos_aguilera.png