La Rivalidad: Quito & Guayaquil
The fierce and ongoing political rivalry between the country's two principal cities, Quito and Guayaquil, was first publicly expressed in 1830 by independence heroes Juan José Flores and Vicente Rocafuerte, during the Republic's declaration of independence. During the latter half of the 19th century, García Moreno's decision to grant the Catholic Church almost absolute authority over Conservative Quito increased the polarization between the sierra and coastal regions. This regional division was even more firmly entrenched with the rise to power of Liberal leader Eloy Alfaro, who reversed García Moreno's act and called for the separation of church and state. The back-and-forth battle for presidential power between the Liberals from Guayaquil and Conservatives from Quito dominated the political landscape during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The rivalry inevitably spread from politics and religion to include nearly every aspect of the social, economic, and cultural life of the country. And it is still raging strong today -- both Quito and Guayaquil claim to be the country's most important city. Guayaquil bases its case on the fact that it is the country's largest and most economically important city, functioning as Ecuador's major shipping port and commercial center. Quito, on the other hand, claims its supremacy on the basis of its hold on political power, its better educational opportunities, and its role as the country's physical and administrative center. Stereotypes also exist: Those from Guayaquil consider themselves much more open-minded, liberal, cheerful, and boisterous than their counterparts in the capital, while Quiteños regard themselves as more hardworking, better educated, and generally calmer than Guayaquileños. Today, one of the fiercest battlegrounds for this historic rivalry takes place on the fields and in the stands whenever the cities' fútbol teams compete.
A Meeting of Giants
Not long after being appointed "Protector of Peru," and with the supposed hope of annexing Guayaquil into the newly forming Peruvian nation, Argentine independence leader José de San Martín met with Simón Bolívar -- El Libertador -- in the city of Guayaquil on July 26, 1822. They were also to discuss the broader future of South America, now free from Spanish rule. Precise details of the "closed-door" meeting remain the subject of much debate among historians. But soon after the famous Guayaquil encounter, San Martín decided to abandon the independence struggle in Peru and retire to Argentina. He later went into self-imposed exile in France, leaving Bolívar to finish the Peruvian campaign.
According to some, San Martin wanted Bolívar's assistance in supplying troops for the swift conclusion of the faltering Peruvian independence struggle. Despite their common objectives, Bolívar's refusal to cooperate, even when San Martin offered to serve under him, resulted in San Martín's withdrawal from the independence struggle. Other historians suggest that Bolívar and San Martín clashed on the fundamental subject of how the new South American nations should be organized: Bolívar favored the idea of independent republics, while San Martin wanted to retain, in some measure, the European monarchy system. San Martín was thus supposedly pressured by Bolívar to resign, as he was a hindrance to Bolívar's vision of a free and independent South America. Although a failure for San Martín, the Guayaquil meeting, which lasted no more than a few hours, was followed by a banquet and a ball at which the two independence heroes made toasts to the hasty conclusion of the war and Bolívar's health and success in future undertakings. Today, a prominent sculpture and monument on the Malecón 2000 commemorates the historic meeting.
