Francisco Arízaga Luque (February 6, 1900 – October 22, 1964) was an

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian poet, writer and politician. He was

President of Ecuador The president of Ecuador (), officially called the constitutional president of the Republic of Ecuador (), serves as the head of state and head of government of Ecuador. It is the highest political office in the country as the head of the exec ...

from July 14, 1925 to January 10, 1926 as part of the First Provisional Government.

Early life

Francisco Arízaga Luque was born in

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

on February 6, 1900, while his father was exiled by the liberal regime of

Eloy Alfaro José Eloy Alfaro Delgado (25 June 1842 – 28 January 1912) often referred to as "The Old Warrior," was an Ecuadorian politician who served as the President of Ecuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911. Eloy Alfaro emerged as the leader ...

. He was the son of Emilia Luque Márquez of

Guayaquil, Ecuador Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

and Dr. Manuel Nicholas Arízaga Machuca a lawyer, journalist, and progressive poet.

College years

In 1918 he matriculated to the University of Guayaquil to follow in his father's footsteps to become a lawyer. Later that same year Arízaga was elected president of "la Asociación Escuela de Derecho" and through this position he was able to attend the Third International Congress of the Students.

Arízaga the poet

In these years his personality was celebrated in the literary circles of the city and the country. His essay "Nocturno Trágico Sentimental" won first prize in the Juegos Florales Universitarios in 1919. It was a

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

with a modernist slant. The poem, written to frighten the bourgeois, was modeled after the custom of the period. Francisco's articles were bold and deep, they showed an uncompromising character that refused to defect from morality. He was fluent in French and English. He translated

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

, was an excellent sportsman, and enjoyed playing soccer. In 1919 he began to write in El Guante (The Glove) and in "El Universal" in 1922 under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Max Smeir.In 1919 he met a young María Lola Murillo Arzube and on August 22, 1922 they were married. Soon after Francisco began to work as the understudy of the prominent political scientist Dr. Rómulo Arzube (Febres) Cordero, María's uncle. Dr. Arzube gained the title Solicitor of Successions of the Guayas, from his doctoral thesis, entitled: "Succession because of the death of Ecuadorian civil rights" and "For the slaughter of workers of the 15th of November, the thirst for justice, these are the first men dreaming of a new Ecuador."

Provisional junta government

In 1924 he graduated as lawyer specializing in successions. Then on July 9, 1925 a military revolution exploded. President

Gonzalo Córdova Gonzalo Segundo Córdova y Rivera (15 July 1863 – 13 April 1928) was President of Ecuador from 1924–1925. Like his immediate predecessors in the Liberal Party, he was considered to be a pawn of "La Argolla" ("the ring"), a plutocracy of c ...

was deposed by 50 soldiers under the command of General Francisco Gomez de la Torre. Arízaga followed the news closely and fully supported his friends, the young officials of the Marañón Battalion. They assumed power and created in Quito a "plural government" that would rise "against the authoritarian pretensions of individual control."

External links

Official Website about President's History of the Ecuadorian Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arízaga Luque, Francisco 1900 births 1964 deaths Ecuadorian people of Basque descent Politicians from Lima Presidents of Ecuador 20th-century Ecuadorian poets Ecuadorian translators 20th-century translators Ecuadorian male poets 20th-century Ecuadorian male writers Ecuadorian expatriates in Peru