Luis Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea (born 26 June 1939) is an Ecuadorian author and politician who served as

President of Ecuador The president of Ecuador (), officially called the constitutional president of the Republic of Ecuador (), serves as the head of state and head of government of Ecuador. It is the highest political office in the country as the head of the exec ...

from 24 May 1981 to 10 August 1984. Hurtado was born in Chambo,

Chimborazo Province Chimborazo () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in the central Ecuadorian Andes. It is a home to a section of Sangay National Park. The capital is Riobamba. The province contains Chimborazo (volcano), Chimborazo (6,267 m), Ecuador's highest mou ...

. During his studies at the Catholic University in the 1960s, Hurtado became a student leader. Afterwards, he lectured political sociology at his ''alma mater'' and at the Centro Andino of the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. He became one of the most widely read political scientists of his home country. In 1977, he authored an influential book on Ecuadorian politics titled ''El Poder Político en el Ecuador'' (English: "Political Power in Ecuador"). Hurtado drew progressive Catholics and younger professionals away from the Social Christian Party and into the Christian Democrats movement which was inspired by Christian

communitarianism Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based on the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relation ...

and Liberation theology and criticized capitalist exploitation. At the time, it was the most radical among Ecuador's non-Marxist parties and Hurtado was suspected by his right-wing opponents of being a "closet Marxist". In 1978, he merged his Christian Democrats with the progressive wing of the Conservative Party to form the

Popular Democracy Popular democracy is a notion of direct democracy based on referendums and other devices of empowerment and concretization of popular will. The concept evolved out of the political philosophy of populism, as a fully democratic version of this p ...

party. In 1979, Hurtado was chosen as running mate of presidential candidate Jaime Roldós Aguilera of the populist Concentration of People's Forces. Roldós was successful and Hurtado became

Vice President of Ecuador The vice president of Ecuador is the second highest political position in Ecuador. In many instances, the vice president succeeded the President of Ecuador, president in turbulent political situations. The last time was in 2005 after the resignat ...

. On Sunday, 24 May 1981, Jaime Roldós Aguilera died in a plane crash. Hurtado succeeded Roldós Aguilera as President of Ecuador and served out the rest of his term. Hurtado is a member of the Club de Madrid. He is also a member of the

Inter-American Dialogue The Inter-American Dialogue (Spanish and Portuguese: ''Diálogo Interamericano''), also known as the Dialogue or IAD, is a U.S.-based think tank in the field of international affairs primarily related to the Western Hemisphere. Headquartered in ...

Selected works

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References

External links

Short Curriculum at EcuadorOnline
1939 births Living people People from Chambo Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador alumni Academic staff of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador University of New Mexico faculty Vice presidents of Ecuador Presidents of Ecuador Christian Democratic Union (Ecuador) politicians Members of the Inter-American Dialogue 20th-century Ecuadorian politicians {{Ecuador-politician-stub