Evening star., 1951-06-20
Ecuodor's President

In its welcome today to President and Mrs.
Gallo Plaza of Ecuador, Washington is greeting
old friends and former residents who are well
remembered from the time of his ambassador
ship here in 194446. In a more official sense,
our Capital City is playing host to them as the
Chief Executive and First Lady of a sister Amer
ican republic whose people, under his enlightened
and genuinely democratic administration, enjoy
a measure of stability and progress unique in
their history.
The words enlightened" and democratic"
accurately sum up the work MIR. Plaza has been
carrying out since his election to the Presi-
dency in 1948. Born in New York City in 1906
of father who was himself celebrated and
forward-looking Ecuadorian leader, he acquired
his adult education-with primary emphasis on
agriculture-in the United States, and the edu-
cation included, among other things such "hard-
knocks" experience as selling apples on Man
hattans street corners after the great crash in
1929. Later, after having returned to Quito to
take care of the family, haciendas and after
having introduced modern farm techniques to
the country, he was in turn elected to the City
Council in 1887 made Minister of Defense in
1888, and appointed Ambassador to Washington
in 1914.
Mr.. PlaZa's devotion to the democratic
process has been evidenced in many ways In
1916, after the then President of Ecuador had
declared himself dictator, the Ambassador to
Washington resigned in protest. returned to
Quito and divided his time between farming and
active poltticking in behalf OF democracy Elected
to the Senate. he soon found himself growing
steadily in popularity, so that in 1948, after
having staged one of the mbst vigorous grass
roots campaigns in the countrys history, he
easily defeated the opposition in the race for
the Presidency. In contrast to most of his
predecessors, however he has made point OF
maintaining and bolstering all the fundamental
freedomS-a fact that accounts in part for the
political stability that has characterized his ad-
ministration to date.
Prior to Mr. Plaza's election as Chief Execu-
tive, Ecuador had had no fewer than 27 differ
ent Presidents in Is years. He has been in office
for three years, and since he cannot constitu-
tionally run again, the hope now is that the
stability achieved under him will continue after
his four-year term expires. Certainly If his
successors carry on with the fine work he has
started, that hope ought to prove justified. For
Mr.. Plaza has already done much to better the lot
of his countrys predominantly Indian population
of 100000. Thus, besides vigorously tackling the
problems OF fliteracy, malaria and tuberculosis
his administration has pushed forward with
road d-building programs agricultural moderni-
zation and expansion and other measures de-
signed to raise living standards and strengthen
and enrich the overall economy.
During his visit here President Plaza un-
doubtedly will discuss with our own officials ways
and means of promoting and insuring Ecuador's
continued progress Given such progress, the
country-a good neighbor that has made bases
available to us in the Galapagos Islands-will
have an opportunity in contrast to its past
history of frequent coups and revolutions, to
keen on enioyinp the kind of STABILITY that has
come to it under the Plaza administration.