Alfredo Vera Arrata (

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

, 1935) was the Minister of Interior of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

from January 2011 to June 2011.

Personal and early life

Born to the politician and lawyer Alfredo Vera Vera and his wife, Baltita Arrata Macías, Alfredo Vera Arrata was born in

as the second of four children. During his childhood he contagioned

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

and as a consequence of his illness he was unable to do sports and was forced to wear special shoes. Nevertheless, he grew up as any other child in the neighborhood. Although

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

, he comes from a prominent intellectual family. His sister is the former

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

and Ecuadorian

prima ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...

Noralma Vera Arrata Noralma Vera Arrata (born 28 August 1936) is a former Ecuadorian prima ballerina and choreographer. Vera Arrata was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador where she grew up as the only daughter among three sons of the distinguished politician and former Cul ...

and his uncle the writer Pedro Jorge Vera.

Education

Alfredo Vera attended in his home city to the then prestigious High School C''olegio Nacional Aguirre Abad''. Subsequently he studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

in the University of

and got the degree of

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

with a major in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

in 1970.

Professional life

For 15 years Vera Arrata worked as

professor at the University of Guayaquil. At the same time, he worked as an urban planner at the consulting firm CONSUR. Since 1976 he works at the Guayasamin Foundation as a leading executive due to his family ties to

Oswaldo Guayasamín Oswaldo Guayasamín Calero (July 6, 1919 – March 10, 1999) was an Ecuadorian painter and sculptor of Kichwa and Mestizo heritage. Biography Early life Guayasamín was born in Quito, Ecuador, to a native father and a Mestiza mother, both of ...

(Vera Arrata is married to his daughter Saskia). He brought forward the materialisation of the ''La Capilla del Hombre'' ("The Chapel of Man") and furthermore, the development of painture in Ecuador.

Political life

Already as a student, and partially due to his family upbringing, Alfredo Vera had a big interest for politics and even got to be vice president of the National Students Association (FEUE) in Guayaquil. In addition, he was also a leader of the ''Movimiento Unión Revolucionaria de Juventudes Ecuatorianas'', a leftwing revolucionary student association. He paid this with liberty and exile: In 1963 he left Ecuador and went to other Latin Américan countries, among them

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The dictatorial regime imprisoned him for a year after returning illegally to Ecuador. Since 1984 he is a member of the Party of the Democratic Left under which he served in 1986 as congressman for the Province of Guayas and as

education minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from 1988 to 1991. In 1992 he served as a

member of Congress A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

, in 1998 as a member of the

Constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

for Pichincha and as member of

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

's city council. 2008 he served as National Anti-Corruption Secretary under President

Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...

. Also during the presidency of Mr. Correa he served at the Ministry of The Interior for almost six months in 2011.

Publications

* ''Historia de un Triste Banano'' (1970) * ''Investigación Social en la Arquitectura'' (1974) * ''El Lleve de la Perimetral'' (1987) * ''El Contrajuicio'' (1991) * ''Enigmas de la Educación'' (1998) * ''Larga Crónica de la Constituyente por Dentro'' (1999)

External links