Ecuador in

the 20th
century
History 2nd BGU
Content
• Economic development
• Loss of territory
• Political changes
• 1941’s war
• Cenepa’s War
Problems of the • The liberals remained in
office, but the real
early 20th century power continued to rest
in the hands of the
wealthy merchants and
bankers of Guayaquil.
• Cacao was the dominant
export crop, as in the
colonial period, but
sugar and rice became
increasingly important.
• A depression followed in the early 1920s. The
price of food increased, and exports in general
declined. The sucre—the national unit of
currency—fell rapidly in value. At the same time,
the country’s cacao plantations became infected
with a fungus that causes a malformation known
as witches’-broom, and production sagged.
• These crises brought urban discontent, the
formation of trade unions in Guayaquil, riots, and
massacres by the army. Hundreds died during
riots and shootings in November 1922.
• In 1925 the army entered this turbulent
situation, claiming that it wished to restore
national unity and blaming many of the country’s
problems on the merchant bankers of Guayaquil.
Unfortunately, the 1925 revolution brought little
change to Ecuador’s social and economic
structures.
Modern history

• The period between 1925 and

1948 was one of greater
turbulence than Ecuador had ever
known.
• During this crucial period,
Ecuador’s internal disunity
prevented the modernization of
its social structure, land
possession system, education, and
communications. Thus, the
country was badly equipped to
face the demands of the age.
Loss of territory in the 1940s
• In July 1941, after long diplomatic disputes and a
series of border incidents, the Peruvian army
invaded, seized much of the disputed Amazonian
area, and devastated El Oro provincia (province).
• The Ecuadorian forces, poorly trained and
equipped, were easily defeated, and the disgrace
caused the overthrow of Arroyo del Río.
• The United States and the other major powers
were too preoccupied with World War II to allow
such small conflicts to destroy Allied unity or to
disrupt the production of vital raw materials.
• A peace conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1942
forced Ecuador to renounce to much of the
Amazonian region. Subsequently, Ecuador
repeatedly attempted to reopen the question,
claiming that the Protocol of Rio did not
establish precise borders and that the new
borders were therefore invalid.
Class Activity
• In your notebooks, draw a timeline of Ecuador
presidents during 20th century. Include their
time period in the goverment.