Evening star., 1933-08-06

world, with the personal ambitions. and
political passions which color them,
with the natural excesses Of military
rule. and whoever is familiar with the
conditions prevailing at the time, will
fully appreciate the significance of that
peaceful, orderly return to const-
tutional status in six months. Suffice
it to say that none Of the neighboring
republics which followed Bolivia on the
revolutionary path in the succeeding two
years approached the record.
Still Faces Problems.
Since the Inauguration of President
Salamanca at the beginning of 1881
Bolivia has enjoyed domestic tran
guilty to an extent equaled by few Of
the Latin American States in these
times of general economic prostration
and political upheavals.
However, II politically speaking, Bo-
livia seems to be. temporarily at least,
cured of the complications which are
ailing her neighbors, in two ether fields
she is still confronting serious crises.
One of them is in the economic field,
the problems Of the worldwide de-
preston being terribly magnihed for
her by the emergencies of the Chaco
War.
Even before this started the condi-
-lOll VI DOlI@l1 NoS d NCIJ
cult one. The national income being
almost entirely dependent upon exports.
and more than three quarters Of these
being tin, the tremendous fall in the
price of tin which the depression
brought about had completely upset the
economy of the country. The gov
ernment had seen its revenue cut in
half. The budget had therefore been
reduced to minimum. new taxes had
been created. salaries reduced, the
smaller mines forced to close, with all
the i'll effects on credit and buying
power inherent in all this. For the
first time in its history. the State had
found itself obliged to suspend the
service of its foreign obligations.
And then came the war-the "un-
official war with Paraguay over the
Chaco Boreal-this being the other
major crisis with which the Bolivian
authorities are struggling today OF
the controversy itself. enough has been
said and is still being said in the daily
press. For the first time in several
months. some possibilities of an early
conclusion of the armed conflict now
| appear near. But however soon this
may come, it will be a heavy burden
which the fighting of the past year in
the jungles of the Chaco will have i'm
posed upon this and probably other Bo-
livian generations to come.
Reorganized Senate.
The republic Of Ecuador has also had
its share of internal difficulties in the
past few years. Prom 1926 to 1881,
Ecuador was under the leadership of
strong -hander chief executive. DR.. Isl
dro Ayora. First as provisional presi-
dent, and then as the cCnstitutionally
al o4oL of@
ment, DR.. Ayora initiated a series Of
political and economic reforms which
greatly Influenced Ecuadors national
life. Outstanding among these was the
establishment Of a semi-corporative
Senate. "a la Fascista," in which half
the members of the higher chamber are
chosen by the provincial councils and
the other half are the representatives,
not Of political parties but Of the
various callings: Business. commerce,
agriculture, banking liberal professions
universities, labor, the press. etc. In
this manner the senate, until then an
exclusively political body, was converted
into technical entity. in which for the
first time the various professional classes
and the organizations which make the
social fabric actually participate in di-
recting national affairs
Other important reforms were: The
recognition Of property rights as social
utilities" which not only afford benefits
and rights but also impose duties and
obligations, thus tending toward the
subordination of ubounded individual
liberty 10 higher needs of a social ma
ture; the granting of equal privileges
and civil rights to Ecuadorean women;
the improvement Of divorce laws. etc.
In spite Of these social and legislative
reforms, the Ayora regime, having been
unable to cope with the grave economic
difficulties Of the world crisis. lost in
few months most of the prestige and
ascendency which it had gained in sew
eral years of continued effort During
the second half of 1881, personal
enemies OF Dr.. Ayora, taking advantage
OF the economic situation and the ex-
ample set by neighboring countries,
forced his resignation and caused pro-
Vlslonal government under Col Larrea
Alba to be established Unlike Gen.
Blanco Galindo in Bolivia. Col Larrea
Alba succumbed ito his own personal
ambition and attempted to use his in
f1uence in power to set himself as the
permanent dictator of the Ecuadorean
government. This was the signal for a
series Of minor violent upsets which for
some time kept presidential stability at
low ebb in Ecuador. Finally, a pro.
querizo Moreno was able to restore peace
and called popular elections.
New Elections Called.
But these elections did not end the
country's internal difficulties. Due to
the division Of the dominant Liberal
party In three factions and to a conti-
nent-Wlde Conservative reaction which
followed radical agitation In certain
parts OF Latin America, Senor BonifaZ,
a Conservative. came out victorious at
the polls. The majority of the Ecua-
dorean people. however, was decidedly
Liberal. 1t had been Liberal for decades.
The organized forces of the nation
which Is even more important In our
present-day democracies were over
whelmingly Liberal. The government in
power was Liberal And to complete the
picture, the army had not concealed its
Liberal sympathies
How Conservative candidate. having
Unexpectedly won at the polls over three
weakened. rival branches of the Liberal
party, was to arrive safely in the presi-
Dental chair. whole year after the
elections, was almost mystery to stu
dents OF Latin American politics and
Latin American psychology.
These fears were confirmed last year
when, the scheduled Inauguration of
President-elect Bonifaz being only a
few weeks away, the Liberal-controlled
Congress declared his election null and
void on the ground that his nationality
had been contested. His elimination
permitted the calling of new elections.
and in these, their lesson learned, the
Liberals fought together and easily
elected their choice Senor Maritime
Mera. Since December. 1882, President
Martinez Mera has been at the helm
OF the Ecuadorean ship of state.
Although no really serious attempt to
overthrow his rule has been made. sew
eral minor outbreaks in different parts
Of the country have required the use of
federal forces and the suspension Of in
dividual guarantees at various times.
Only few days ago. Col. Larrea Alba
was reported incomunicado by the Ecua-
dorean authorities because Of his Slln-