CARTA NEGRA (CONSTITUTION OF ECUADOR OF 1869) - HISTORY - 2024

The Black Letter was the name that wide sectors of Ecuadorian society gave to the Constitution promulgated in 1869. It was the eighth Constitution approved in the country and had a strongly conservative character and close to the postulates of the Catholic Church.

In 1861 a period marked by the continued presence of conservatives in power had begun in the country. That year Gabriel García Moreno came to power and a Constitution was approved that repealed the previous one. After finishing his term, García Moreno left office, but continued to maintain great influence.

Gabriel García Moreno - Source: Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador

Internal conflicts within the conservative camp caused García Moreno himself to overthrow Juan Javier Espinosa by arms in 1869. Once power was recovered, the president ordered the drafting of a new Magna Carta. Finally, it was approved in a referendum.

Its not very liberal character caused it to be popularly baptized as "Black Letter". It established the death penalty for political crimes, the official status of the Catholic religion or that belonging to that religion was an essential requirement for having Ecuadorian nationality.

Background

In 1861, with the election by the National Constituent Convention of Gabriel García Moreno as President, a stage began in Ecuador in which the conservatives dominated the institutions.

García Moreno remained in office until 1865. Afterwards, he maintained a great influence over his replacement, Jerónimo Carrión.

Coup

Juan Javier Espinosa took over the presidency of the country in 1868. At first, García Moreno gave him his support, but soon a campaign of opposition to his work began, accusing him of having betrayed Catholicism.

Just one year after the start of the legislature, García Moreno led an armed coup and overthrew Espinosa. After the triumph of his rebellion he proceeded to proclaim himself Supreme Chief.

Preparation of the new Constitution

García Moreno's second presidency began in 1869. As he had done in 1861, one of his first measures was the drafting of a new Magna Carta.

The system chosen to prepare the constitutional text was very similar to that used in 1843, when the so-called Slavery Charter had been promulgated. Thus, García Moreno formed an assembly composed of his unconditional.

The assembly carried out its work in Quito and the result was a Fundamental Charter that served as the basis for the Constitution.

The Constitution was submitted to a referendum on July 1 of that same year and officially entered into force on August 11, when it was published in the Official Gazette.

Content of the Black Letter

The Constitution of 1869 was soon baptized as the Black Letter by the most liberal sectors of the country, since it greatly reduced the rights of citizens.

Among the regulations that it established was the confirmation of the Catholic religion as the only one allowed in the country, without the freedom of worship.

Likewise, it allowed the security forces to enter any home, established the death penalty for crimes of a political nature and the limitation of presidential terms to six years.

First articles

The first of the titles in which the Constitution was divided was dedicated to the definition of the country. In the Magna Carta, Ecuador was defined as a republic and its territorial limits were marked.

Title II was dedicated exclusively to relations with the Catholic Church. As noted, the Constitution denied freedom of worship and established the Catholic religion as the official and only permitted religion in the country.

Similarly, Article 9 declared that the public powers had the obligation to defend the Catholic faith and established the legal superiority of Canon Law.

Citizenship concept

Title III was one of the most rejected by liberals. This indicated the requirements to be considered a citizen, including the obligation to be Catholic. Furthermore, they also had to be over 21 or married and literate.

This same Title included the infractions that gave rise to the loss of citizenship. These were belonging to a society prohibited by the Church, alcoholism, being lazy or having mental problems, among others.

Organization of power

The Constitution established the traditional separation of powers: legislative, executive and judicial. Each one had to be independent with respect to the others.

Congress was the body that assumed the legislative power. It was made up of two different Chambers: the Senate, whose members were renewed every 9 years, and the Chamber of Deputies, whose mandate lasted 6 years.

The President was in charge of exercising executive power. Each term had a duration of 6 years and the possibility of indefinite reelection was included.

Despite this separation of powers, the Magna Carta had a markedly presidential character. Among his prerogatives was, for example, the appointment of magistrates of the judiciary.

Other provisions

The Black Letter also dedicated one of its titles, the ninth, to the territorial organization of the State. Thus, it was divided into provinces, cantons and parishes.

Despite the fact that it was a very conservative Constitution, Title XI was dedicated to the civil and legal rights of citizens.

Among its articles was the prohibition of slavery and the right to a fair trial. Likewise, freedom of thought and expression was reaffirmed, with the exception of any matter that had to do with the Catholic religion.

Later events

Following the constitutional mandate, the next elections were held in 1875. The winner was García Moreno. However, he did not have the possibility of remaining in the presidency, since he was assassinated on August 6, 1875 by one of his most staunch enemies: Faustino Lemus Rayo.

Weakening of conservatives

The disappearance of the figure of García Moreno marked the beginning of the weakening of the conservative hegemony in the country.

His successor was Antonio Borrero, who belonged to the Progressive Party. At first he maintained good relations with the Liberals, but his refusal to reform the Black Charter caused both sides to break off relations.

The Liberals then supported General Ignacio de Veintimilla in his attempted coup. The triumph of this coup brought Veintimilla to power, first as Supreme Chief and later, after approving a new Constitution, as Constitutional President.

References

1. Aviles Pino, Efrén. Black Card. Obtained from encyclopediadelecuador.com
2. The time. The famous Black Letter. Obtained from lahora.com.ec
3. Sánchez Bravo, Mariano. The Black Card of the Garcian regime. Recovered from pressreader.com
4. International IDEA. Constitutional history of Ecuador. Retrieved from constitutionnet.org
5. Minster, Christopher. Gabriel Garcia Moreno: Ecuador's Catholic Crusader. Retrieved from thoughtco.com
6. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. García Moreno, Gabriel (1821–1875). Retrieved from encyclopedia.com