Ignacio de Veintemilla (1829 - 1908) was a military man and politician from Quito in the 19th century. He was head of state of the Republic of Ecuador between 1876 and 1883. He had no interest in letters like his father, but he showed an early vocation for arms.
He had an adventurous and bohemian character, which gave him both the determination to hold power in a convulsed state, as well as the criticisms of the majority who despised his ways.
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His government was marked by political tensions. During his tenure, many riots were unleashed throughout the Ecuadorian territory, so he was traveling from one side to another trying to maintain peace in the country.
He professed neither the liberal nor the conservative doctrine. For the general, the help of his niece Marietta de Veintemilla in the governance of the country was fundamental. Despite his efforts, the restorative revolution brought the Conservative party to power once again in Ecuador.
After spending time in exile, he returned to Ecuador in 1907 and died a year later.
Biography
Early years
Mario Ignacio Francisco Tomás Antonio de Veintemilla y Villacís was born on July 31, 1828 in Quito, Ecuador. He was the third of the seven children of Dr. Ignacio de Veintemilla Espinosa and Josefa Villacís.
His father was a lawyer, he was secretary of the Central University of Quito and former president of the Superior Court of Justice of Quito. His mother was the daughter of one of the heroes of August 10, 1809, José Javier Ascazúbi y Matheus.
Ignacio de Veintemilla attended the Vicente León de Latacunga School, considered the best in the country, when he was seven years old. However, the young man did not show interest in studying, he learned to read, write and basic mathematics, but then he had no interest in continuing.
He was also, some time before it closed, at the San Fernando de Quito School. When he left there, Veintemilla spent some idle time until at the age of 11 he decided to join the army, as José, his older brother, had done.
In 1847 he had already reached the rank of second lieutenant and by the year 51 he was captain. Veintemilla showed a lot of discipline and a vocation for a military career, despite his propensity for the bohemian life.
He married Joaquina Tinajero Llona, they had three children who did not reach adulthood and their mother did not survive them for long. Then Veintemilla returned to his habits as a lover of vices, especially alcohol and women.
Politics
Since 1857, Veintemilla served as García Moreno's bodyguard and two years later also supported him in his uprising against General Urbina. His brother Carlos died in battle in 1864.
During Carrión's mandate, Ignacio de Veintemilla was appointed Brigadier General and appointed as Minister of War.
In 1869 his brother José de Veintemilla was assassinated in a failed uprising against García Moreno. Then Ignacio was apprehended and sentenced to death by the government, but the sentence was commuted to bail and exile.
Then, Veintemilla headed for Paris, France, and remained there until the assassination of García Moreno in 1875. Shortly after his return, he was appointed General Commander of the Guayas District by President Borrero.
Supreme boss
Veintemilla discovered and stopped a conspiracy against Borrero, but he considered that it was a personal grudge of the general for the murder of his brother and told him that the government would not avenge other people's grievances.
It was then that Veintemilla began to conspire against the president. There was discontent towards Borrero for refusing to convene a Constituent Assembly.
General Ignacio de Veintemilla took advantage of the opportunity and on September 8, 1876, he began a revolution that proclaimed him Supreme Chief, backed by the majority of liberals.
The conservatives who resisted were defeated and on December 26, 1876, General Ignacio de Veintemilla entered the capital of Ecuador, which already considered him the winner.
The clergy were a faithful supporter of the conservatives and constantly attacked the Veintemilla government, which in June 1877 put into effect the Law of the Patronage, by means of which the church was subject to the State.
The insurrections in the territory continued to appear and also were appeased. Some consider that Veintemilla acted with violence and persecution against those who did not agree with his ideas, but considering that he had to secure his position, that seemed his only alternative.
Presidency
In 1878, when the country was at peace, Veintemilla convened a Constituent Assembly that began sessions on January 26 and, later, they named him constitutional president on April 21 of the same year.
Some of the important works that he carried out during his government were the modernization of the San Juan de Dios Hospital and the construction of the Sucre Theater in Quito, works that were promoted by his niece Marietta, who served as the first lady.
Also during Veintemilla's mandate, progress was made in the construction of the railroad to Chimbo, scholarships were awarded to low-income students, the construction of the Guayas river boardwalk was ordered, and the construction of roads and street paving was also commissioned. in the country.
At the beginning of 1882, when the constitutional mandate of Veintemilla came to an end, he decided that he would declare himself Supreme Head of the Republic again. He traveled to Guayaquil and left his niece Marietta in charge of governance in Quito. She discovered a plot to raise the army in arms and arrested it.
However, the majority of the country was unhappy, and finally the Veintemilla government was overthrown in Guayaquil on July 9, 1883.
Death
General Veintemilla had to retreat into exile where he remained for 17 years, until during the government of Eloy Alfaro a decree was issued by which he was rehabilitated and was inserted back into his military ranks, so that he could receive a salary.
Ignacio de Veintemilla died on July 19, 1908 in the city of Quito. He had returned to the country a year earlier, at 78 years of age.
References
- Pérez Pimentel, R. (2018). IGNACIO DE VEINTEMILLA VILLACIS. Biographical Dictionary of Ecuador. Available at:biograficoecuador.com dictionary.
- Veintemilla, M. (1982). Ecuador pages. Guayaquil, Ecuador: Department of Publications of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Guayaquil.
- Avilés Pino, E. (2018). Veintemilla Gral. Ignacio de - Historical Characters - Encyclopedia Del Ecuador. Encyclopedia Of Ecuador. Available at: encyclopediadelecuador.com.
- En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Ignacio de Veintemilla. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
- Well, M. (2007). The Little Larousse Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary 2007. 13th ed. Bogotá (Colombia): Printer Colombiana, p. 1769.