Eloy alfaro

Don José Eloy Alfaro Delgado was born in Montecristi, (Manabi) on the 25th of June, 1842. His father was don Manuel Alfaro y González, Spanish Republican native of Cervera del Rio Alhama, Rioja,Spain who arrived in Ecuador as a political exile; his mother was doña María Natividad Delgado López.

Don José Eloy received his primary education in his place of birth. After graduation he dedicatedhimself to helping his father with his business negotiations. During his youth he aligned himself with anticlerical liberalism, a doctrine later embodied in the Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party. Hefought against Presidents García Moreno, Borrero, Veintemilla and Camaño, and as a result he is traditionally known as the "Viejo Luchador" (Old Warrior) or "General de las Derrotas" (General ofDefeats). Eloy Alfaro experienced many serious difficulties in the various campaigns he initiated with the end of combating tyranny. He spent his fortune, acquired with the help of his Panamanian wife, AnaParedes Arosemena, in those battles . Nine children where born of their marriage: Bolívar, Esmeraldas, Colombia, Colón, Bolívar(2), Ana María, América, Olmedo, and Colón Eloy; Rafael was born out ofwedlock.

From a very young age he participated in acts of rebellion. He almost lost his life in the disastrous naval battle of Alajuela when he tried to disembark in Ecuador with a troop ofrevolutionaries and was defeated by Conservative Government forces. When his ship sank, he saved himself from drowning by clinging to a barrel. He participated in the battles of Montecristi, San Mateo,Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Jaramijó, Gatazo, Cuenca, and Chasqui.

Eloy Alfaro was a model father and was magnanimous with friends and the destitute. He also supported various liberals, such as the writer JuanMontalvo, to whom he offered monetary assistance. Once in power, he glorified the memory of Montalvo as a great teacher and an example to the Ecuadorian people. Even though Alfaro was not very...