Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP)

The Concentration of Popular Forces (Concentración de Fuerzas Populares—CFP) has been the leading populist political party of Ecuador since 1946. It generally favors an agenda of socioeconomic reform. Founder Carlos Guevara Moreno finished third in the presidential balloting in 1956. Asaad Bucaram Elmhalin (1921–1981), twice mayor of Guayaquil, followed as CFP leader. Bucaram was a leading presidential contender twice: in 1972, when the military canceled the elections; and in 1978, when the military disqualified him on the grounds that his parents were Lebanese. In 1978 Bucaram's nephew-in-law, Jaime Roldós Aguilera, took Bucaram's place, campaigning under the slogan,"Roldós to govern, Bucaram to power." Roldós led the CFP to victory over conservative Sixto Durán Ballén of the Social Christian Party (PSC) in the runoff election of 1979. Bucaram became leader of the National Chamber of Representatives, but soon broke with Roldós over the president's austerity program. Roldós left the CFP and formed a new party, the People, Change, and Democracy (PCD) in 1980. While not a member of the CFP, Bucaram's nephew, Abdalá Jaime Bucaram Ortiz, won the presidency in 1996. The congress accused him of corruption and in 1997 removed him from office.

See alsoBucaram Elmhalin, Asaad; Ecuador: Since 1830; Roldós Aguilera, Jaime.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

For an excellent overview of modern Ecuadorian political economy, see David W. Schodt, Ecuador: An Andean Enigma (1987). For a focused treatment of the recent transition to elected government, see the analysis offered in Catherine M. Conaghan, Restructuring Domination: Industrialists and the State in Ecuador (1988). Amparo Menéndez-Carrión, La conquista del voto en el Ecuador: De Velasco a Roldós (1986), examines the party's popular basis of support. John D. Martz provides an insightful treatment of the Bucaram/Roldós feud in Politics and Petroleum in Ecuador (1987).

Additional Bibliography

Freidenberg, Flavia, and Manuel Alcántara Sáez. Los dueños del poder: Los partidos políticos en Ecuador (1978–2000). Quito, Ecuador: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, 2001.

Mejía Acosta, Andrés. Gobernabilidad democrática: Sistema electoral, partidos políticos y pugna de poderes en Ecuador (1978–1998). Quito, Ecuador: Fundación Konrad Adenauer, 2002.

O'Neill, Kathleen. Decentralizing the State: Elections, Parties, and Local Power in the Andes. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

                                            Ronn F. Pineo