President of Ecuador (1861–65; 1869–75). An extreme conservative, his goal was to convert Ecuador into the leading theocratic state of Latin America. His 1861 constitution, which accorded wide powers to the president, and his 1863 Concordat with the Vatican almost succeeded in doing so. The Catholic Church enjoyed greater power and privilege during his two administrations than it ever had before. A sound administrator, he put Ecuador on a stable financial basis and introduced material reforms. He was assassinated in 1875.