ABSTRACT
In the struggles that preceded independence and in the process of formation of the new state, a certain discord was apparent that constituted the most remote origins of what would later emerge as the Ecuadorean political party system. Early in his political career, General Jose Maria Urvina belonged to the Floreano faction, later to reveal himself an ardent adversary of the "Liberal" Rocafuerte. The political factions so vaguely manifested in previous years coalesced after 1875 to form the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, and the Progresista Party. Garcia Moreno was never particularly interested in the formation of a formal political organization to embody and safeguard his private political philosophy, and his eminently personalist orientation was not conducive to the emergence of a group of men who would continue his work. The assassination of Garcia Moreno rendered the moment propitious for political activity on the part of the Liberals.
