Coup Atlas Research Database
← Back to explorer
13007261949AttemptedMilitary coup

Ecuador, 1949 — military coup attempt

Ecuador (ECU)South America, AmericasJuly 26, 1949

Event Summary

On 26 July 1949 military conspirators attempted a coup against President Galo Plaza Lasso of Ecuador, one of the plots his government put down during a term that became a landmark of constitutional rule. Plaza, elected in an unusually free June 1948 election at the head of a coalition of independent Liberals and socialists, made scrupulous adherence to constitutional procedure and broad freedom of opinion the core of his governing style, which itself antagonized both conservative and populist opponents accustomed to settling power by force. The July 1949 attempt failed and Plaza stayed the course, surviving further plotting and the devastating Ambato earthquake of August 1949, and in 1952 he left office as the first Ecuadorian president in 28 years to complete a full term.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Galo Plaza Lasso survived the attempt unharmed and completed his full term in 1952
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Galo Plaza Lasso (president of Ecuador, target)
Dissident military and opposition plotters (recurrent conspirators against Plaza)

Sources

Plaza was elected president in an unusually free election in June 1948, and a cardinal point of his policy was scrupulously to follow constitutional procedures and permit the utmost freedom of discussion on all public issues, in one of the most politically unstable countries of South America.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, FRUS 1950 vol. II open source ↗
Plaza came to power after a year in which three different men briefly held executive power following Velasco Ibarra's 1947 ouster, narrowly defeating his Conservative opponent at the head of a coalition of independent Liberals and socialists, and his September 1948 inauguration opened the longest period of constitutional rule since 1924.
SOURCE REVIEWED OnWar, Military Coup in Ecuador 1947 open source ↗
Unable to succeed himself, Plaza left office in 1952 as the first president in 28 years to complete his term.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Galo Plaza open source ↗
During his presidency the August 1949 earthquake near Ambato severely damaged the city and surrounding areas and killed thousands, a crisis his government managed while holding to its democratic course.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, History of Ecuador 1944 to 1960 open source ↗

Editorial Note

Discrete documentation of the 26 July 1949 attempt is thin in accessible English sources; the entry anchors the verified pattern of plotting against Plaza and his survival to a completed term. Pairs with the Ecuador 1950-07-15 record in this batch and contrasts with the Velasco era coups before and after his presidency.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
13007261949

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Galo Plaza Lasso survived the attempt unharmed and completed his full term in 1952.

Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

New York Times

“REVOLT IN ECUADOR QUELLED SPEEDILY: Two Wounded in Brief Uprising – About 60 Held, Most of Them Retired Army Men,” July 27, 1949

The Washington Post

“Revolution In Ecuador Short-Lived,” July 27, 1949

New York Herald Tribune

“Revolt in Ecuador: A ’National Sport’: That’s What President Calls It as He Sees One Quelled,” July 27, 1949

South China Morning Post

“REVOLT BROKEN: Plot Against Head Of Ecuador REBELS SUBDUED Quito, July 26,” July 28, 1949

Chicago Daily Tribune

“ECUADOR PUTS DOWN REVOLT; SEIZES LEADER: Attack on Palace Fails,” July 28, 1949

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

Know something about this event?
Tips are reviewed against sources before anything is added.