Editing History of Ecuador (section)

===The liberal era (1895–1925)===
{{further|History of Ecuador (1895–1925)}}
[[Image:Eloy Alfaro.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Eloy Alfaro]]
[[File:Historic Center of Quito - World Heritage Site by UNESCO - Photo 437.jpg|thumb|250px|Antique [[Dugout (boat)|dug out canoes]] in the courtyard of the Old Military Hospital in the [[Historic Center of Quito]].]]
The new era brought in liberalism. [[Eloy Alfaro]], under whose direction the government headed out to aid those in the rural sectors of the coast, is credited for finishing the construction of the railroad connecting Guayaquil and Quito, the separation of church and state, establishment of many public schools, implementing civil rights (such as freedom of speech), and the legalization of civil marriages and divorce.

Alfaro was also confronted by a dissident tendency inside his own party, directed by its General [[Leonidas Plaza]] and constituted by the upper middle class of Guayaquil. His death was followed by economic liberalism (1912–25), when banks were allowed to acquire almost complete control of the country. During the 1920s, Ecuador's key export, cacao beans, were devastated by disease at the same time that its cacao producers faced increased competition from West Africa. The loss of export earnings seriously damaged the economy.

Popular unrest, together with the ongoing economic crisis and a sickly president, laid the background for a [[July Revolution (Ecuador)|bloodless coup d'état in July 1925]]. Unlike all previous forays by the military into Ecuadorian politics, the coup of 1925 was made in the name of a collective grouping rather than a particular caudillo. The members of the League of Young Officers came to power with an agenda, which included a wide variety of social reforms, such as dealing with the failing economy, establishing the Central Bank as the unique authorized bank to distribute currency, and creating a new system of budget and customs.

[[Image:Ecuador1920.png|thumb|left|290px|Mainland Ecuador in 1920]]