Introduction - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 12

chete and the ensuing 20 years proved difficult for the weakened Con-
servative Party.
By 1895, internal party division (and newpresidents seemingly every
other day) provided the opportunity for the Liberal Party to take con-
trol with another coup d'état. Although only briefly in power, the
anticlerical Eloy Alfaro became the symbol of Liberalism in the first
quarter of the 20th century. With support of the Liberal Party
(PLR), he promoted the separation of Church and State, rapid mod-
ernization, and indigenous land reform. On the coast, agricultural ex-
ports boosted the economy. As the Liberal influence grew, the
conservative powers in Quito continued to decline. Alfaro worked to
promote a more unified economy, encouraged primarily by US inter-
ests, for which he received strong nationalist criticism. To this end, he
prompted the building of a railway line from the coast inGuayaquil to
Quito in the Sierras. This successfully unified the two regions of the
country, but also created the transportation infrastructure for theUS
to extract Ecuador's natural resources efficiently.
Unfortunately, Alfaro pushed the Church and landowners a bit too
far by banning religion in schools and redistributing land. As the con-
servative landlords held on to their possessions and positions, indige-
nous life remained as it had during earlier times. The Liberals
themselves also divided along religious lines and true democracy was
not progressing, with the ongoing government takeovers and corrupt
elections. Alfaro was eventually ousted by his own party and then
murdered by pro-clerical supporters. Ecuador continued to be charac-
terized by sharp political divisions and turmoil.
Modern Ecuador
The liberal front plunged into turmoil as soon as it had gained power.
The powerful banking sector was founded upon a failing agricultural
industry (cacao) and rising inflation from printing worthless money.
And it was just as corrupt in elections as any prior party. WorldWar I
and international competition dealt severe blows to Ecuador's econ-
omy, which relied on export of the country's cash crops. The indige-
nous population suffered severely, while landowners diversified their
crops to include bananas and rice. Plantation workers on the coast
created organized unions and demonstrations. Simultaneously, the
indigenous people of the highlands organized revolts, setting the
stage for violent conflicts.
The onset of the Great Depression left its mark as demand for ex-
ports dropped, unemployment soared and a brief period of US-backed