File No. 822.00/266.]
[Untitled]
Quito, February 2, 1912.
Sir: I have the honor to send the following report of the recent armed disturbances in Ecuador.
President Estrada left the capital for Guayaquil on November 27 in the hope that the change to the coast would improve his health. While many alarming rumors had been current about the President’s health, no one knew that the President’s state was as critical as later developed. It was therefore with considerable surprise that on the morning of December 22 news was received at the Legation that President Estrada had died suddenly the night before.
The death of the President was a great disappointment to this Legation, because after a great deal of work on the part of all the members of the staff, the Ecuadorian Government had resumed daily deposits, and 184,000 sucres were already on deposit in London, while arrangements had been made to secure locally the difference necessary to meet the January coupon, and negotiations were well under way to arrange a loan for the three coupons overdue. At one blow the entire work of this Legation since August was rendered null.
Immediately after the death of the President, General Leonidas Plaza G. was announced as the Government candidate, and his nomination was apparently received with great enthusiasm throughout the whole Republic.
It is here necessary to review the fact that General Plaza, during his previous incumbency of the presidency, during the years 1901 to 1905, had been noted for his strong anticlerical views and the stern manner in which he curbed the privileges of the Church. He was therefore very unpopular with the Conservative party, which is by far the most numerous in Ecuador, although as it does not as a rule take a very active part in politics and does not control many newspapers, [Page 402] its opposition to General Plaza did not become at once apparent.
One other factor of great importance entered into the situation. It will be remembered that the last Congress annulled the charter of the Compañía Nacional Comercial, a monopoly in which the great moneyed interests of Guayaquil were heavily interested. General Plaza, during his short incumbency as Minister of Hacienda, had shown himself the enemy of this monopoly and was therefore openly opposed in his candidacy for the presidency by the business interests of Guayaquil. These interests, while usually taking no part in politics, of course immediately begin to do so when a condition of affairs arises which interferes with their business.
The men behind the Compañía Nacional Comercial therefore desired some man for President, it did not matter who, whom they could control and who would not interfere with their privileges. General Plaza they could not control, and therefore they were opposed to him.
I believe that the opposition of these two elements, the Conservative party and the moneyed interests behind the Compañía Nacional Comercial, was responsible for the recent revolution.
It must be remembered that the Executive Power in this country rests entirely on armed force, that is, the Army. It was therefore the attempt of the forces opposing General Plaza to subvert a portion of the Army. This they found ready to their hands in the person of the opportunist commander of the Third Military Zone, General Pedro J. Montero, and the garrison of Guayaquil. General Pedro J. Montero is an old friend of General Eloy Alfaro and could therefore count on the support of the Alfarista party and other elements disaffected with the present Government.
[Military news.]
On the morning of December 30 news was received at the Legation of the destruction of the wooden trestle railroad bridge near Alausi. This was immediately made the subject of a note of protest to the Foreign Office.1 The Government replied that the destruction of the bridge was the work of the revolutionists and requested that the railroad company immediately repair the bridge at the expense of the Government.
On the morning of January 7 the U. S. S. Yorktown reported her arrival in Guayaquil.
[Military news.]
Had the revolutionists so desired they could still have made the Government pay heavily for the taking of Guayaquil. This would however very probably have involved the destruction of the city, and the foreign business interests appealed to General Eloy Alfaro to surrender in order to save lives and property. Emissaries were therefore sent to Durán to confer with General Plaza, and, as I understand (I have as yet no definite information on this subject), the revolutionists agreed to surrender Guayaquil provided that they, the leaders, were permitted to leave the country. This agreement was signed by General Plaza and witnessed by the British and American Consuls.
[Page 403]The Government repudiated the action of General Plaza and ordered the leaders of the revolution to be tried for treason. General Plaza protested but was overruled.
I have [etc.]
- Not printed.↩