Alfredo Ernesto Poveda Burbano (January 24, 1926 – June 7, 1990) was an Interim President of Ecuador January 11, 1976, to August 10, 1979.

Alfredo Poveda
Head of the Supreme Government Council
In office
January 11, 1976 – August 10, 1979
Preceded byGuillermo Rodríguez
Succeeded byJaime Roldós
Personal details
Born
Alfredo Ernesto Poveda Burbano

(1926-01-24)January 24, 1926
Ambato, Tungurahua, Ecuador
DiedJune 7, 1990(1990-06-07) (aged 64)
Miami, Florida, US
Spouse
(m. 1950)
other (1979)
Children4 daughters
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Ecuador
Branch/service Ecuadorian Navy
RankAdmiral

Background

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Poveda was born in Ambato on January 24, 1926.[1] He attended Mejía High School in Quito and the Escuela Superior Naval "Comandante Rafael Morán Valverde" and graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Náutica Manuel Belgrano (ESNN). He also attended military academies in Argentina, Brazil, and the United States.[1]

Career

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Poveda first served in the Ecuadorian navy where he was promoted as the naval attache at Ecuadorian missions to Western European countries.[1] He became commander of the First Naval Zone and commander of the Marine Infantry Battalion.

Poveda came to power through a military coup in 1976[2] and was appointed by the Supreme Council of Government as president.[3] He governed with two other members, General Guillermo Durán Arcentales (for the Ecuadorian Army) and General Luis Leoro Franco (for the Ecuadorian Air Force). The triumvirate structured a plan for return to democratic government[2] that led to multiparty general elections after a referendum on a choice of constitutions between a new one created by a constitutional assembly appointed by the Triumvirate and the Constitution of 1948 with several reforms. The new constitution was adopted in 1979 and it was recognized as a progressive document.[3] The referendum lead to multi-party general elections among some twenty recognized political parties and the populist lawyer from Guayaquil Jaime Roldós Aguilera was elected President of Ecuador.

The military government was known for its crackdown of dissent and was particularly noted for its handling of the October 1977 sugar workers' strike at El Aztra, which resulted to the death of 100 individuals.[2] The regime also withdrew land reform in the same year while all pending land cases were concluded in favor of landowners.[2]

Upon return to a democratic system Admiral Poveda withdrew from public life and took residency in Guayaquil, Ecuador. While returning to Ecuador after a conference in Russia, he died from a myocardial infarction during a layover in Miami, Florida.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Lentz, Harris M. (2013). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Oxon: Routledge. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-884964-44-2.
  2. ^ a b c d Pineo, Ronn F. (2007). Ecuador and the United States: Useful Strangers. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-8203-2970-3.
  3. ^ a b Lauderbaugh, George (2012). The History of Ecuador. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-313-36250-7.
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Political offices
Preceded by President of Ecuador
1976–1979
Succeeded by