File No. 822.00/287.]
[Untitled]
Quito , March 8, 1912 .
Sir: I have the honor to inform the Department that on the morning of the fifth instant there was a good deal of excitement in Quito on account of the proposal of the Government to change the commanding officers of certain of the battalions stationed in this city. During the afternoon it became evident that the Vice President, Dr. Carlos Freile Zaldumbide, had definitely decided to use the influence of the Government to oppose General Plaza. General Navarro, Minister of War, and Señor Intriago, Minister of Hacienda, who were supporters of General Plaza, resigned.
Having decided to support the candidacy of Dr. Tobar, the Government of Señor Freile Zaldumbide felt the need of strengthening its position with the Army. An agreement was reached by which General Julio Andrade consented to support the Government and oppose General Plaza.
Late in the afternoon General Andrade was appointed Minister of Public Instruction, and the tension became acute. It is stated that the Government had planned to seize the person of General Plaza that same night. To that end several hundred citizens were armed and held in readiness. In the evening the Vice President, accompanied by his Cabinet, went to the barracks of the police battalion, which they believed to be loyal. It happened, however, that the second in command of this battalion, the Subintendente of Police, was secretly supporting General Plaza. He informed the General of the proposed plot.
General Plaza immediately sent word to the troops on whom he could rely, and before the Government could carry out its intention his troops had seized the city.
This move took the Government entirely by surprise. Its supporters offered practically no resistance, and although shooting continued in the streets all night, most of it was in the air and there were very few casualties. General Andrade was shot and killed just as he was leaving the police barracks with the intention of rallying his men.
General Plaza arrested the Vice President and Cabinet. They were, however, released and escorted to their homes as soon as danger to their persons had ceased. The Government resigned immediately, and although General Plaza was practically dictator he preferred to go through the legal form of an election before actually assuming office. Therefore, following the letter of the Constitution, Señor Dr. Francisco Andrade Marin, President of the Chamber of Deputies and an ardent supporter of General Plaza, assumed the functions of the Executive ad interim, and reappointed General Navarro and Señor Intriago as Minister of War and Hacienda respectively.
The political situation is greatly simplified and the prospects for a prolonged period of peace are better than at any time since the overthrow of President Alfaro the eleventh of last August.
I have [etc.]