José María Velasco Ibarra

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José Maria Velasco Ibarra (1893 - 1979) was an Ecuadorian political figure. He served as the president of Ecuador in 1934 and 1935, again from 1944 to 1947, for a third time between 1952 and 1956, penultimately from 1960 and 1961, and finally between 1968 and 1972.

The events surrounding the end of his 4th presidency are dealt with in Philip Agee's book "CIA Diary".

Debate abounds as to whether his rule can correctly be labelled as populist. Following Agustin Cueva several authors have argued that in the midst of a hegemonic crisis Velasco Ibarra rose to power on the votes of the coastal sub-proletariat: peasants who had migrated to urban centres as the cacao industry dwindled. The charismatic figure of Velasco Ibarra, according to this view, emotionally captured the multitude with promises of redemption. Others, among them Rafael Quintero, argue that the entrenched landowning elite was responsible for V. Ibarra's victory (at least in the 30s), as the Coastal elite had been weakened by the end of the cacao boom.

[edit] Quotes

“Give me a balcony and I will become president,” said José Maria Velasco, Ecuador's most prominent populist, who was five times elected president and four times overthrown by the army.^[1]