MARIANO SUÁREZ TWENTYIMILLA: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - HISTORY - 2025

Mariano Suárez Veintimilla (1897 - 1980) was a lawyer and politician from the city of Otavalo, Imbabura, in Ecuador. He served as president of the country for a short period of time, in addition, he was vice president in 1947.

He became interested in the journalistic profession and stood out in that particular. He was one of the founders of weeklies such as Estrella Polar or El Clarín, both conservative, a party with which Mariano Suárez shared.

He entered politics as a deputy, a position he held on several occasions during his life. Mariano Suárez Veintimilla managed to become leader of the Conservatives and held high positions in the government when they returned to power.

He sat in the presidential chair for a few days in order to bring peace to Ecuador and avoid an unnecessary war for the seizure of power. After that, Suárez held public offices in different institutions and later retired from political life.

Biography

Early years

Mariano Suárez Veintimilla was born on June 4, 1897 in Otavalo, Imbabura, in Ecuador. He was the son of Rafael Suárez España and Matilde Veintimilla. He also had four brothers named: Carlos, who was a prominent Ecuadorian poet; Francisco, who dedicated himself to a military career; Jorge and Carmela.

His education began at the San Diego Seminary and then went on to the Colegio Nacional Teodoro Gómez de la Torre, both institutions located in Ibarra.

Upon receiving a bachelor's degree, Mariano Suárez moved to Quito, where he obtained a law degree from the Central University in 1924.

It was then that he moved to Ibarra and began to practice his profession. At that time, Suárez Veintimilla's interest in politics began to awaken, as well as in a journalistic career.

In addition, Mariano Suárez Veintimilla achieved a degree in Public and Social Sciences, Doctor of Jurisprudence and also as a specialist in International Law.

Lawyer Mariano Suárez Veintimilla was the founder of conservative-style weeklies such as El Clarín and Estrella Polar. Both media served at the time as bastions of opinion against the liberal governments in Ecuador.

Politics

Since 1931, Mariano Suárez Veintimilla served the province of Imbabura as a Deputy before the Congress of the Republic of Ecuador until 1935.

He was persecuted by dictatorial regimes such as those of Federico Páez or Enríquez Gallo and in 1935, when he was 38 years old, Suárez Veintimilla was exiled to Chile.

Later that year, he was appointed deputy director of the Conservative Party, of which Suárez Veintimilla was already at that time one of the fundamental faces of the time. Later he took charge of the direction, when Jacinto Jijón and Caamaño were exiled.

Then, in 1937, Mariano Suárez Veintimilla found himself at the head of the General Secretariat of the Conservative Party. In 1939 he was elected as a deputy for Imbabura again, and in 1942 he was selected as vice president of the Chamber.

In 1943, he firmly opposed the government of Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río. Also, Suárez Veintimilla represented the conservatives before the Ecuadorian Democratic Alliance, which moved to Ipiales to meet with José María Velasco Ibarra.

Public service

Mariano Suárez Veintimilla was one of the leading actors in the Revolution of May 28, 1944, after which the Arroyo del Río government was overthrown. He himself directed the taking of the Government Palace.

When Velasco Ibarra seized power, Suárez Veintimilla was appointed Minister of Agriculture and later Minister of the Treasury. The following year he was chosen as General Director of the Conservative Party and presided over the elections of deputies to the Convention.

In 1946 Mariano Suárez Veintimilla was elected as a Deputy for the province of Pichincha and later he was selected to occupy the chair of president of the Chamber in the National Constituent Assembly that was called that year.

At the beginning of 1947, Suárez Veintimilla was appointed vice president of the Republic of Ecuador, thus, he would accompany Velasco Ibarra throughout his presidential term.

Presidency

Velasco Ibarra was overthrown after the coup led by Colonel Carlos Mancheno Cajas. The matter was resolved after 8 days with the resignation of the military before the triumvirate made up of Luis Larrea Alba, Humberto Albornoz and Luis Maldonado Tamayo.

However, as indicated by the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, the presidency had to be assumed by the acting vice president. This is how Mariano Suárez Veintimilla became the Ecuadorian Prime Minister on September 2, 1947.

Suárez Veintimilla had to convene an Extraordinary Congress that would be in charge of selecting a new constitutional president and he did so immediately.

Despite this, many did not look favorably on a conservative in command, so Mariano Suárez Veintimilla decided to resign his post as President of the Republic before Congress on September 17, 1947.

Post-presidential life

After his brief period as president of Ecuador, Mariano Suárez Veintimilla continued to be involved in public service from different positions such as Vocal and President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

He also served as Attorney General of Ecuador between 1956 and 1960, a position from which he faced problems that ranged from the international to the institutional, and all faced them with honesty and rectitude.

Death

Mariano Suárez de Veintimilla died on November 23, 1980 in the city of Quito, Ecuador, at the age of 83.

Decorations and honors

- Knight in the National Order of Merit.

- Knight of the French Legion of Honor.

- Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Pope Saint Sylvester.

- Knight Grand Cross in the Isabel La Católica Order.

Works in his presidency

The government of Mariano Suárez Veintimilla lasted only a few days, so he could not achieve many milestones in his short time in office.

However, Ecuador owes Suárez Veintimilla the continuity of peace and democracy in the nation, since his quick action when summoning the Extraordinary Congress and also when he left his post, saved Ecuador from unnecessary conflicts.

References

1. Attorney General of Ecuador - Nuñez Sánchez, J. (2008). History of the State Attorney General's Office. Quito: Design plot, pp. 89 - 95.
2. Avilés Pino, E. (2018). Suárez Veintimilla Dr. Mariano - Historical Characters - Encyclopedia Del Ecuador. Encyclopedia Of Ecuador. Available at: encyclopediadelecuador.com.
3. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Mariano Suarez. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
4. Vice Presidency of the Government of Ecuador. (2013). Vice Presidents in History. Available at: vicepresidencia.gob.ec.
5. The Herald. (2018). Mariano Suárez Veintimilla / Editorial - El Heraldo. Available at: elheraldo.com.ec.