José María Velasco Ibarra

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José Maria Velasco Ibarra (1893 - 1979) was an Ecuadorian political figure. He served as the president of Ecuador in 1934 and 1935, again from 1944 to 1947, for a third time between 1952 and 1956, penultimately from 1960 and 1961, and finally between 1968 and 1972.

“Give me a balcony and I will become president,” said José Maria Velasco, Ecuador's most prominent populist, who was five times elected president and four times overthrown by the army.

The events surrounding the end of his 4th presidency are dealt with in Philip Agee's book "CIA Diary".

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