Ponce Enríquez, Camilo (1912–1976)

Camilo Ponce Enríquez (b. 31 January 1912; d. 14 September 1976), president of Ecuador (1956–1960). A member of a traditional highland family, Ponce received his law degree from the Central University in Quito in 1938 and soon combined politics with his legal career. Conservative in outlook, he founded the Movimiento Social Cristiano (MSC) in 1951. It was to be his personal political vehicle for the next three decades.

After serving as the key minister to José María Velasco Ibarra during the latter's third term as president (1952–1956), Ponce became the rightist candidate in 1956 and won a disputed victory by a bare 3,000 votes. The first Conservative president since 1895, Ponce survived his term despite a weak political base, economic difficulties, and bitter opposition from labor, which was subdued by stern police action. Eight years after leaving office Ponce sought his second term, running under the Alianza Popular label at the head of a rightist coalition. He finished third in a tight race that was won by Velasco.

Ponce remained influential as an elder statesman in later years and never relinquished hopes of returning to office once again. However, the intrusion of the military into politics in 1972 helped thwart these hopes. He gradually withdrew from politics, and by the time of his death in 1976 his personalist party had reorganized as the Partido Social Cristiano.

See alsoEcuador, Political Parties: Overview .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

John D. Martz, Ecuador: Conflicting Political Culture and the Quest for Progress (1972).

Additional Bibliography

Alexander, Robert Jackson, and Eldon M. Parker. A History of Organized Labor in Peru and Ecuador. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006.

Lara Guzmán, Marco. Camino y significación del Partido Social Cristiano. Quito: Corporación Editora Nacional, 2005.

                                            John D. Martz