Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García Moreno y Morán de Butrón (24 December 1821 – 6 August 1875), 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
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and aristocrat who twice served as
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 ...
(1861–65 and 1869–75) and was
assassinated
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
during his second term after being elected to a third. He is noted for his
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
,
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
strongman
Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...
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 ...
. García Moreno was noted for efforts to economically and agriculturally advance Ecuador and for his staunch opposition to
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
.''The Nineteenth Century Outside Europe'' Taylor & Francis
Biography
Gabriel Garcia Moreno was born in 1821, the son of Gabriel García-Yangüas y Gómez de Tama, a Spanish nobleman, and María de las Mercedes Moreno y Morán de Butrón, a member of a wealthy
aristocratic
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system.
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America.
* Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
family, descended from the first Conquerors and Spanish nobility arrived to South America, in Ecuador's main port,
Guayaquil
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 ...
. Garcia y Gomez de Tama, his father, initially had invested in the shipping industry of the
Viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
(then a Spanish colony encompassing what is now Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia) who moved to the New World in order to see his investment yield results. He died, however, when Garcia Moreno was a boy, leaving his upbringing to his devoutly Catholic Christian mother. This rearing instilled in the young Garcia Moreno a devout sense of Christian piety which would influence his later political activity as well as his private life. Garcia Moreno studied
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
and law in the University of Quito. Thinking he had a vocation to the priesthood, he received
minor orders
In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...
and the
tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...
; but his closest friends and his own interests convinced him to pursue a secular career. Graduating in 1844, he was admitted to the bar. Starting his career as both lawyer and journalist (opposed to the Liberal government in power) he made little headway. In 1849, he embarked on a two-year visit to Europe to see first hand the effects of the
1848 revolution
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
.
He returned home to find his country in the grip of strident anti-clericals; he was elected a senator and joined the opposition. Although himself a
monarchist
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
(like the first President
Juan José Flores
Juan José Flores y Aramburu (19 July 1800 – 1 October 1864) was a Venezuelan-born military general who became the first (in 1830), third (in 1839) and fourth (in 1843) President of the new Republic of Ecuador. He is often referred to as " ...
) who tried to establish a "United Kingdom of the Andes" with the French Emperor's backing, he bowed to circumstances and allowed himself to be made president after a civil war the year after his return---so great had his stint as a senator made his reputation.
In 1861, his presidential position was confirmed in a popular election for a four-year term. His successor was deposed by the Liberals in 1867. But two years later he was reelected, and then again in 1875. During his period in office, he propelled his nation forward, all the while uniting him more closely to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
.
Personally pious (he attended
mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
daily, as well as visiting the Blessed Sacrament; he received Holy Communion every Sunday—a rare practice before
Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
—and was active in a sodality), he made it one of the first duties of his government to promote and support Christianity. Christianity was the official religion of Ecuador, but by the terms of a new
Concordat
A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, and two years later had the legislature consecrate Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of his biographers writes that after this public consecration, he was marked for death by German Freemasonry, freemasons.
García Moreno generated some animosity with his friendship toward the
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
(Jesuits). During a period of exile, he helped some displaced Jesuits from
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
find refuge in Ecuador. He had also advocated legislation that would outlaw secret societies.Henderson, Peter V. N. ''Gabriel Garcia Moreno and Conservative State Formation in the Andes''. University of Texas Press, 2008
While the politics of his age were extremely convoluted and murky, that he was elected to a second term clearly indicates his popular appeal, both with the Catholic Christian Church and with the masses. His vigorous support of universal literacy and education based on the French model was both controversial and bold.
Through both his parents, García Moreno was descended from noble Spanish families whose lineages go back to the Middle Ages. His father, Gabriel García y Gómez de Tama was a Spaniard from
Soria
Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...
, descended from the house of the Dukes of Osuna, and an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy. García Moreno's mother was a member of a wealthy and prominent Spanish-Criollo aristocratic family descended from the Imperial family
Komnenos
The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. ...
, the house of the Dukes of Infantado and the first Conquerors and Spanish nobility arrived to South America. Her father was Count of Moreno and Governor-General of Guatemala, before moving to Guayaquil, where he was the Perpetual Military Governor. Among his other relatives were his first-cousins Juan Ignacio Moreno y Maisonnave,
Archbishop of Toledo
The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.
and
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Primate of Spain
The Primacy of the Spains (; , ) is the primacy of the Iberian Peninsula, historically known as Hispania or in the plural as the Spains. The Archbishop of Braga, in Portugal, has claimed this primacy over the whole Iberian Peninsula since the ...
, and his brothers Teodoro Moreno y Maisonnave, Count of Moreno and justice of the Spanish Supreme Court and Pedro Joaquín Moreno y Maisonnave, military historian and Chief Justice of the Royal Tribunal of the Military Orders of the Kingdom of Spain.
García Moreno founded the Conservative Party in 1869. He lived at the first Hacienda of Ecuador, the Hacienda Guachalá, leased from 1868 until near his death. García Moreno was assassinated while in office by Faustino Rayo, who attacked him using a machete. Other perpetrators deployed firearms in the fatal ambush. Rayo was a former captain who had served under García Moreno.
Economic climate of Ecuador
García Moreno came to the presidency of a country with an empty
treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
and an enormous debt. To overcome this, he placed the government on stringent economy and abolished many positions, as well as cutting out the corruption which siphoned off tax money. As a result, he was able to provide Ecuadoreans with more for less. This improved the financial status of the country and attracted foreign investment.
These public works projects were accomplished in part through the use of revenues obtained from the ''trabajo subsidario'' tax, a tax initially created to aid the funding of local works projects. The ''trabajo subsidario'' tax in many ways mirrored the colonial ''mita'' labor requirements demanded of Indians by Spaniards. The voluntary contributions law and ''trabajo subsidario'' tax, revived in 1854, required that every citizen contribute four days of unpaid work to the State yearly or its monetary equivalent to promote the nation's public works projects. Like its ''mita'' precursor, the trabajo subsidario obligation fell most heavily on Ecuador's indigenous populations since these groups were unable to pay to avoid labor. Estate-bound peons were able to find protection from these laws through the help of ''hacendado'' or essential paternal landlords. In 1862, in a somewhat contentious move, García Moreno demanded control of these revenues of this tax in order to direct funds towards his ambitions for major infrastructural reform. This created a great deal of local discontent, as this meant diverting funds from more locally based public works projects. Using these funds, García Moreno began his famous highway system project, contracting workers from the ''trabajo subsidario'' requirement to build these roads.
Although the ultimate results of the project are often praised, García Moreno has been criticized for his use of forced labor to build these highways and the overall discriminatory and abusive treatment of indigenous workers during the process of construction. In his chronicle, ''Four years among the Ecuadorians'', Friedrich Hassaurek describes witnessing the building of the road from Quito to Guayaquil. He describes the "lamentable sight" of Indians laboring to build the roads without sufficient tools. Hassurek writes, " he Indiandoes not work voluntarily, not even when paid for his labor, but is pressed into the service of the government for a length of time, at the expiration of which he is discharged and another forced into his place. He works unwillingly, is kept to his task by the whip of the overseer. It is evident that but little progress could be made under these circumstances."Hassaurek, F. 1831-1885., and C. Harvey Gardiner. Four Years Among the Ecuadorians. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1967, 111 Along with a variety of notable public works programs, García Moreno reformed the universities, established two polytechnic and agricultural colleges and a military school, and increased the number of primary schools from 200 to 500. The number of primary students grew from 8000 to 32,000.
Political climate and assassination
Liberals typically disapproved of García Moreno due to the authoritarian and ultraconservative nature of his rule and his utilization of secret police to silence leftist dissent. Some radicals viewed him as a dictator, and the liberals also were enraged that his policies remained after 1865 when his political allies were elected, and followed by his winning the presidency again in 1869. This opposition from the left compelled Juan Montalvo to write the pamphlet ''La dictadura perpetua'' (''The Perpetual Dictatorship''), which inspired the movement to assassinate Garcia Moreno. García Moreno, following his third election victory in 1875, wrote immediately to
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
asking for his blessing before inauguration day on 30 August:
I wish to obtain your blessing before that day, so that I may have the strength and light which I need so much in order to be unto the end a faithful son of our Redeemer, and a loyal and obedient servant of His Infallible Vicar. Now that the Masonic Lodges of the neighboring countries, instigated by
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, are vomiting against me all sorts of atrocious insults and horrible calumnies, now that the Lodges are secretly arranging for my assassination, I have more need than ever of the divine protection so that I may live and die in defense of our holy religion and the beloved republic which I am called once more to rule.
On 5 August, shortly before his assassination, a priest visited García Moreno and warned him, "You have been warned that your death was decreed by the Freemasons; but you have not been told when. I have just heard that the assassins are going to try and carry out their plot at once. For God's sake, take your measures accordingly!"Berthe, P. Augustine (1889), translated from the French by Mary Elizabeth Herbert ''Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador, 1821-1875'' Burns and Oates García Moreno reportedly replied that he had already received similar warnings and after calm reflection concluded that the only measure he could take was to prepare himself to appear before God.
On 6 August 1875, García Moreno was assassinated on the steps of the National Palace in
Quito
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
, struck down with knives and revolvers, later re-tellings of the event by his admirers attributing to him the following last words: "" ("God does not die!"). Faustino Rayo assaulted him with several blows of a machete, while three or four others fired their revolvers.
Works
Gabriela Garcii Moreno - own works
* Escritos y Discursos de Gabriel García Moreno (2 volumes), 1887–1888, Sociedad de la Juventud Católica de Quito,
* Cartas de Gabriel García Moreno (4 volumes), 1953–1955, Wilfrido Loor Moreira,
Non-fiction
* García Moreno Président de L'Équateur Vengeur et Martyr du Droit Chrétien, 1887, Augusto Berthe,
* García Moreno, 1904,
Juan León Mera
Juan León Mera Martínez (28 June 1832 – 13 December 1894) was an Ecuadorian essayist, novelist, politician and painter. His best-known works are the Ecuadorian National Hymn and the novel '' Cumandá'' (1879). Additionally, in his politic ...
,
* Gabriel García Moreno: regenerator of Ecuador, 1914, Maxwell-Scott,
* Un gran americano García Moreno, 1921, José Legohuir Raud,
* Gabriel García Moreno y El Ecuador de su Tiempo, 1941, Richard Pattee,
* García Moreno's Dream of a European Protectorate, 1942, William Spence Robertson,
* Vida de Don Gabriel García Moreno, 1942,
Manuel Gálvez
Manuel Gálvez (18 July 1882 – 14 November 1962) was an Argentine novelist, poet, essayist, historian and biographer.
Early years
Gálvez, a member of one of the leading patrician families of Entre Ríos Province, was educated by the Jesuits b ...
,
* Orígenes del Ecuador de Hoy, García Moreno, 1948, Luis Robalino Dávila,
* Vida de García Moreno (13 volumes), 1954–1981, Severo Gomezjurado,
* García Moreno, el Santo del patíbulo, 1959, Benjamín Carrión,
* García Moreno y sus asesinos, 1966, Wilfrido Loor Moreira,
* Por un García Moreno de cuerpo entero, 1978, Gabriel Cevallos García,
* García Moreno, 1984, Manuel M. Freire Heredia,
* Encuentro con la historia, García Moreno, líder católico de Latinoamérica, 2005, Francisco Salazar Alvarado,
* Gabriel García Moreno and Conservative State Formation in the Andes, 2008, Peter Henderson,
* "Dios no muere!" the life of Gabriel García Moreno, 2009, Maxwell-Scott,
* García Moreno, 2014, Hernán Rodríguez Castelo,
* García Moreno su proyecto político y su muerte, 2016, Enrique Ayala Mora,
Poems
* El héroe mártir, canto a la memoria de García Moreno, 1876,
Juan León Mera
Juan León Mera Martínez (28 June 1832 – 13 December 1894) was an Ecuadorian essayist, novelist, politician and painter. His best-known works are the Ecuadorian National Hymn and the novel '' Cumandá'' (1879). Additionally, in his politic ...
,
* Año jubilar del primer centenario del nacimiento del excelentísimo señor doctor Gabriel García Moreno (colección literaria), 1921,
Novels
* Sé que vienen a matarme, 2001, Alicia Yánez Cossío,
* Expiación, 2012, Juan Ortiz García
Filmography
* Sé que vienen a matarme, 2007, Film director - Carl West, Gabriel García Moreno - Jaime Bonelli
Legacy
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
wrote that García Moreno "fell under the steel of the wicked for the Church."Berthe, Augustine (2014) riginally published 1889, in French''Garcia Moreno'', pp. XV - XVI. Dolorosa Press.
On 20 December 1939, the
beatification
Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
process was begun for Garcia Moreno by Carlos María de la Torre, Archbishop of Quito, after previous examinations of the question of García Moreno's
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...
. In 1958, a prayer for the canonization of García Moreno was issued as an indulgence. However, García Moreno's process stalled soon after the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
.Gomezjurado, ''The Consecration'', pp. 240 & 335 In 1974, Cardinal Pablo Vega replied to
Hamish Fraser
Hamish Fraser (16 August 1913 – 17 October 1986)'Edinburgh University Students in Spain', ''Archives @ University of Edinburgh''. http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/edinburghuniversityarchives/2016/12/, December 2016. Accessed 31 December 2018. was ...
about the state of García Moreno's process, telling him that, "Unfortunately, there is neither the religious nor political environment."
See also
*
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 ...