For most of our 22-year missionary career in Ecuador the name of León Febres-Cordero has been prominent in our lives. The former President died Monday, 4:30pm in Guayaquil. The name probably will not ring a bell with many reading this blog, but his political life and influence has been enormous over the decades in Ecuador.
A good summary of the colorful life and political influence of Febres-Cordero can be read here.
The closest I personally ever got to the man was to stand behind him in the immigration line at the Miami International Airport Jan/07. As we approached the black American woman official with passports in hand, I wondered if she had any idea who she was addressing. "The Lion" has been one of the most feared, respected and powerful voices of the past four decades. I found it amusing that she kept him there for several minutes asking "his reasons" for coming to the USA. I guarantee you, nobody in Ecuador would have questioned Leon like that! It will be interesting to watch the direction the Ecuadorian conservative political right takes without the presence of the last 'caudillo'.
3 comments:
That's pretty funny.
Guy,
Thanks for this and the e-mail. We were there when he was president and when he was kidnapped and a couple of his body guards killed.
I attended several horse shows where he was at, showed and won several prizes. He was an incredible man and remember his wife visiting the Israel Church during election time.
He made history and cleaned the country of terrorists. He had many enemies but I believe he was a stabilizing force in Ecuadorean daily life.
Blessings,
Manuel
Manuel,
True. As the article quotes LFC as saying, Exercising leadership, my friend, is not done with smiles. Smiles are good for wooing a woman but not for governing.
How are you guys doing? Drop us a line one of these days.
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