Fifth Congress of the Communist Party of Fifth Congress of the Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE) held at Ambato

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R014100290007-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 4, 2002
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: October 7, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

IliTELLOFAX 21
PUIIPI IPIU .
FEB 1952 "
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.CLASSIFICATION
COUNTRY Ecuador
?
SUBJECT
DATE OF
INFO.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
SECRET
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT NO.
CE
CNO.
g
DO NOT CIRCULATE
Fifth Congress of the Communist
Party of Ecuador (PCE) held at
Ambat0,9 24-29 July 1952
PLACE
MI uPrr
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75X1
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DATE DISTR. 7 October 1952
QF PAGES 12
NO. OF ENCLS.
(Lisno BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE;
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH IN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECT IONS 793:
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHOR I ZED PERSON IS
PROH I 0 I TED NY LAW. tg: REPRODUCTION oF, PSIS FORM IS
SOURCE
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1.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
The Fifth Congress of the Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE) was held in the city
of Ambato from 24 through 29 July 1952.
2. Pre I arator Session: The first formal meeting of delegates to the Congress
too place ariTZ-Treparatory Session, held in the auditorlum of the Liceo Juan
Montalvo beginning at 3:00 p.m. on 24 July. In attendance at this session were
approximately 150-160 Communists, including 105 delegates.' The Preparatory
Session was presided over by Pedro Antonio Seed, Secretary General of the PCE?
who, in the name of the delegates present, warmly thanked the Conservative
mayor of Ambato for placing the auditorium fatilities of the Iiceo Juan
Montalvo at the disposal of the PCE delegates. Those present at this session
then proceeded immediately to elect the Presidium of the Congress, which was
constituted as follows:
a)
b)
c)
d)
C)
f)
g)
Pedro Antonio Saadn Presiding member, Secretary General of the PCE.
Enrique Gil Gilbert, Secretary General of the PCE in Guayas.
Pernan Acebedo, POE leader from Ioja.
Jaime (aka Enrique) Galarza? Secretary General of the PCE in Azuay.
Dr. Aquiles Valencia, Provincial Council and PCE member from Manabi.
Manuel Oswald() Albornoz Peralta, Secretary General of the PCE in
Pichincha
Jose Maria Davalos (aka Jose Antonio), Secretary General of the PCE
in Tungarahu*
0 A nation:was. made from the floor to augment the number of members of, the Presidi-
um to include delegates from Caner, Imbabura, and Esmeraldas, where, according
to delegates present, the Pa has achieved outstanding successes in combating
American Imperialism. Thie motion map not approved.
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4. After the election of the Presidium, several commissions were constituted,
among them the followinga
Credentials Cormrission
'%litical Commission
Discipline Commission
Organization Commission
Statutes Commission
nance Commission
.Press Commission
A Presidium of Honor was then elected, headed. by Stalinn and including such
:leaders as Mao Tse Tung, Lin Pao, Chou En Lai, Maurice Therez, Palmiro
Togliatti, Pablo Neruda, and Luiz Carlos Prestes.
6. A commission composed of Tirso Gomez., Patricio Cueva, Jaramillo? and Corsino
Duran was named to greet the juventud Comanista torch-bearing relay runners
due at the Inaugural Session of the Congress that evening.
7. The remaining period of the Preparatory Session was devoted to the following
topics:
al A general discussion of methods 'to amplify the "defense of the
worker,"
b) A.general discUssion of the "Comite Juvenil oPaz Mundial)lp and a.
decision, to support it financially
A general discussion, led?by Allredb Vera Vera, of the problem Of
IT,a? in the world of today. Vera bitterly blamed the United States
for causing the as yet, Undeclared World War III. He further bleated
the American banana companies for ruthlessly exploiting Ecuadoran
labor n especially in the Province of Esmeraldas,
d) A listing by Pedro Saad of different points to be coveted in the
inaugural Session. Saad asked the delege*s present if they. felt
more points should be put to the inaugural Session for discussion
but received an emphatic negative answer from the delegates, who
stated they did not wish to stay up until 4:00 a.m. at the first
night session., '
e) A general discussion and criticism of anti-Communist propaganda
appearing on the walls throughout Ambato which was blamed on Accion
lievoluCionaria Nacional Ecuatorlana (ARNE), Pedro Saad recommended
that all Communists 'show their culture" by paying absolutely no
attention to the anti-Communist propaganda.
8. The PreparatOry Session broke up at approximately 5:30-6g00
9, LEALLoral Session: At 9:00 p.m. on 24 July, the Inaugural Session of the Con-
gress got 117riaer 'way in the Teatro Inca, owned by one Cosme Romano, who has
been reported a Communist Party member. The theater maF,' completely full, and
attendance at this session has been estimated at from 700 to 1000. The munici-
pal band was on hand at the beginning of the session,
10,, The stage of the Teatro Inca was arranged as follows: in the center, at the
tear of the stage, was a large portrait of Stalin., flanked on the right by the
Ecuadoran flag and on the left by the Soviet flag. Seated at this table were
Pedro Saad, Enrique Gil Gilbert-, Manuel Oswaldo Albornoz Peralta, 11r. Aquile6
Valencia, Jorge Almeida Hidalgo, and Jaime Galarza. Also reported present on
the stage were Rafael Echeverria, Ricardo Paredes, Olga Munoz, Dr. Jorge '
Sanchez, Jorge Meneses, Cesar Enrique; Endara Gonzalez, Pedro Ortiz Aldas?
Tirso Gemez? Jose Maria Davalos (aka Jose Antonio Davalcis).? Ligia de Caicedo?
Ghandi Burbano, Marcia Barahona Gonzalez, Ruben Calderon (delegate from the
Communist Party of Cuba), and Jaime Barrios (delegate from and Secretar-Y
Organization of the. Communist Party of Colombia).
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11. The session began with a declaration by Enrique Gil Gilbert to the effect
that the Fifth Congress of the PCE was officially inaugurated. Olga Munoz,
in the name of the Juventud. Comunista Femenina, next took the floor and.,
after praising the work of the young wean) of the Party, presented a Commu-
nist flag to Pedro Seed. Jove Maria Davalos then took the speakers stand
and officially greeted the delegates present at the Congress. This greeting
was answered by Dr. Ricardo Paredee? founder of the PCE. Paredes bitterly
attacked the United States and singled out the Military Pact signed by the
? United States and Ecuador as his principal target. He mouthed standard
? Communist phrases about world peace and Yankee imperialiem.
12. At this point the session vas interrupted by the arrival of a group of 11
youths, members of the Juventud Comunista, who escorted to the stage a relay
runner holding a burningd"tereh of peace" which had been brought from Quito.
In addition to this symboll they carried a large Cemmunist flag, and two
youths, one dressed as a laborer, the other as a farmer, crossed a hammer
and a sickle on the stage, receiving prolonged applause from the audience.
13. The session was resumed? and Ruben Calderon (also reported as Rigid? Calderon),
the fraternal delegate from CUbai, addressed the assembly. He spoke for only
a short period, discussing the problems facing Cuba under Batista, and the
necessity for Latin America to unite to stop Yankee Imperialism. He mentioned
that several countries, among them. Argentina, Guatemala, and Mexico, have not
signed military pacts with the United States, not becauee of the governments
of those countries but rather becauee of the immenele pressure exercised on
their governments by the common people, who oppose the "ravenous Yankee",
Calderon exhorted the Ecuadorans presert to do everything in .their power to
prevent the ratification of the military pact. The alternative was portrayed
as a complete loss of national sovereignty. His manner of speaking was highly
effective and roundly applauded by the audience,
14, The chorus of the Juventud Comunistan composed of some 25 persons and directed
by Corsino Duran, then sang the Ecuadoran national anthem, followed by the
Internationale. and other revolutionary songs. Ligia de Caicedo then recited
a revolutionary poem, and a young girl sang folk songs.
15. Several resolutions were then read to the Assembly, covering the following
pointSg
? a) The PCE opposes the intervention of the United States and its warlike
policy in the affairs of other nations,
? b) The PCE supports the Confederacion de Trabajadoree del Ecuador (CTE).
c) The PCE opposes the plan to have the United States firm MorrisonKnudsen build the Quevedo-Manta highway.
? d) The PCE salutes all the Communist parties of the world,
16, Rafael Echevarria? in the name of the Juventud Comunieta del Ecuador, then took
the speakerss stand, stating that the 'JC had faith in the Congress but that the
Congress must work out solutions to the problems besetting the Party without
fear, vacillation, or regardtopersonal eacrifice. He stated that Communism
has failed in its mission in lecuador because of a lack of decision, discipline,
and valor in the fight for the interests of the Party. He did not show himself
to be a good speaker.
17. Pedro Saad next took the floor and spoke for almost two hours about the
- following subjectea
a) The danger of a new war,
b) The Korean situation.
c) The war economy of the United States and other imperialist nations.
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d)- The support given by the United States to reactionary'cOups and
governments in Cuba, Venezuela Colombia, Pera? Chile, and Brazil,.
e) The necessity of nationalizing foreign business interests in Ecuador.
, The special necessity of beginning a campaign for the nationalize:-
tion. of Eeuadoros petroleum industry.
g) World Peace - the scheduling for December 1952 of the Third Congress
for Peace in Peiping, China.
hl The influence of the United States in closing the Communist Labor
,31pion Center in Paris and causing the arrest of Jacqaes Duclos.
i) The loWorld Conference of Capitalists who do not want War l which met
in Moscow.
j)
Agrarian reform and the necessity of turning over the land to those
wh work it and not to those who hold the deeds, since these deeds
have no real validity in the world of today.
k) The plot of the United States to uee Brazil against Argentina in order
to sow the seed of Latin American strife.
The servility of the Plaza regime and, its puppet, Dr. -Antonio JO
Quevedo? mho, as representative tothe United Nations o has voted in.
the Service of Yankee ambitions. '
The converkon of Ecuador into a lackey of the United States by means
of the military pact,
? n) The necessity of blocking the ratification of the military pact.
c) The banana-economy problem and unmerciful exploitation by the United
States a resulting in lower earnings for Ecuador.
p) The failure of right--wing Socialists!) who have put themselves at the
service of Plaza, the Socialist failure in recent elections.
The necessity of opposing thA regime of Jose Maria Velasco Marra? ,
as well as ABMs, Concentraclon de Fuerzas Populares (CFP), and. Juan
Domingo Peron, of Argentina.
18. Thi'Je Seed was. delivering this violently anti-United States speech? the lights
suddenly went off throughout the theater, and for some time he spoke in the '
light of numerous flashliehts held by members of the audience. This sabotage
? vas blamed on ARVE and CFP? and vociferous shouts of' ?Abajo ARNEno ?Abajo CFP"?
filled the theater. Outside the theater a group of some 50 individuals shouted
anti-Communist epithets and threw stones at the theater. A station wagon
belonging to Franklin Perez Caotroemas damaged by stones., and two of its tires
were slashed. The Ambato police finally succeeded ir.quelling the disturbance.
It was generally believed by the Communists that ARNE members had led the
demonstration.
194 The Inaugural Session ended at approximately midnight with a mandolin solo
by Nelson Segura and several sengs and recitations by other members of the JC.
20. neemy: Sessions: The Firat Plenary Session of the Congress opened at the
Liceo Yontalve olt 25 June; it, and all further sessional were restricted solely
to authorized deleeates to the Cenaress. At this fleet session delegations
from various cell s and regions read their report 6p an(1. the Credentials Commis-
sion named the 105 delegates privileged to remain in thc; audfiLorium. ? Others
present *ere escorted outside. !'tules vicre drama up regarding the maximum
time to be spent Pr discussion of varioei point et and an elaborate system for
holding direuesions was developed., which in effect out an a:heel:ate time limit
. ? ?
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of 40 minutes on each point brought up. (This was not strictly observed,)
The remainder of the Congress Wan devoted prinarily to plenary sessions,
usually-three each day e The principal Characteristic of the remaining
Sessions of the Congress we bitter personal strife among the leaders and
the delegates present.
210 ClnegEps aeainst Ricardo Paredess The most heatedly discussed aceusations
ii.e7i5-rgose aimergirfra:FartSedes? founder of the PCE. Segundo Ramos
Navarete placed the name of Paredes in nomination for membership in the
Political Commission, stating that Paredes was by right the Secretary
General. Of the PCE, whereas Pedro Seed had ueurned the post. Saad defended
his position, stating that the EXecUtiVe Committee of the PCE had elected
him to fill the post after Paredes had asked for an indefinite leave from
his Post as Secretary General in order to erve to Manta and reside in that
city. At this point numerous charges were hurled at Pare des. among them the
followdngs
a) Violation of democratic centralism through his attempt to pub-
lish a Party newspaper in Manta without advising the Executive Committee.
b) Entering Into direct contact with foreign Communist leaders
without the knowledge of the Executdve CereelJtee or other organisms of
the Party, Paredes Was charged by Rafaai Echeverria with having
written directly to Mao Tee Tung asking the latter to furnish scholare
ship to two comrades in Manta of Chineoe eetraetion? the brothers of
ChUng Jurado. This letter was answered in a very vague form by Mao a4d,
Cent to Moscow., where it was translated, When Paredes wee last in
Moscoie he washanded the letter and turned it over to Rafael Echeverria
in Warsaw, Poland, for? transmittal to Ecuador, Echaverria never returned
the letter to 'Paredes, but, rather!, gave it to Pedro Saad. The letter
eupposedly read substantially as follow Comrade Ricardo Paredes,
Secretary General of the PCE? I answer yoer kind letter in which you ask
me to facilitate the further study of ;he Chung Jurado beothers in Peking.
I send you my beet wishes and inform yeu that they may come when they con-
. sider it convenient., Mao Tpe Tung." No indicative of date or of possible
payment of passage or other aid appeared in the letter* it was apparent
that the fact that Paredea had written this letter caused extreme concern
to the Congress.
c) Furnishing, withalit the liaewledge of the Eeecutive Cemmittee? a
Colombian Communist named (Pee) Cuaree with a signed, notarised letter to
the effect that he, the Colombian was an enti-Communist Conservative.
This letter appeared in the Colombian press, and Jaime Larrios, the
Colombian delegate to. the Congrees, brought a photostatie copy of the
letter with hime Suarez reportedly 'attended the Warsaw Naze Congress and
was unable to re-enter Colombia until Parades made his written statement,
which received considered publicity in Coloneie. Paredee? ir his defense
before the Congress, denied the whole metter*
d) Collecting money for his trip to the USSR from Indians belonging
to the Federaeion de Indies. 'Paredes was aceesed of collecting money from
Indians in the CaeaMbe region. Medeeto Rivet, Cemmunist boas of the
Federacion de Indies, further aceueed Peeedee ef collecting more money
(sone 5/8000) from the Indians after ITS return from Europe,
e) Making false accusations against Nela Nartinez, prominent Communist
female leader, because she, formerly Paeedee mistreee and mother of a child
by him, married a French Communist, Raymond lesrieuetn and would have
nothing further to do eith Paredes.
22. Paredes took the floor and spoke for three hours against his accusers, priw-
cipally Pedro Saad$ Rafael Echeverria, and Modeeto Rivera. His speech report-
edly had no coherence, and he wae eeveral times earned by the Presidium to get
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back to the point. Paredes dwelled on his long years of service to the
Party and recounted in detail his revolutionary activities over the years.
It has been reported that the general consensus was that he made a complete
fool of himself and did not effectively refute any of the charges made
against him. The whole Paredes matter profoundly affected the delegates,
sinces Paredes is considered the "old war horse" of the Party. Many of
those present stated their belief that Paredes has degenerated completely as
a revolutionary, but that he should be "put out to pasture" by a Party which
must recognize his valuable services in the past.
23. Char es agells.I. Alfredo Vera 'Vera: .Alfredo Vera Vera was severely criticized
i?ieleVerg.r-Se-s-ai=so-rthe Congress, accused of orightist deviations" stemming
from the time he held the national: Ministry of Education under the former ,
Velasco government. He was accused of opportunistic policies in his dealingsse
With the Guevara faction of the Guayaquil Municipal Councils where he has failed'
to act with proper nrevolutionary vigor". Prominent in voicing anti-Vera Vera
adensatiens were Primitivo Barreto? Quito Communist reportedly sent by the
Executive Committee to solve PCE problems in :.Guayaquil and Bolivar Sandovale
young Communist from the province of ,Los Nos. Vera was defended by Ana
Moreno, Segundo RaMos, Cesario Valverde?eand Ricardo Paredes. Nela Martinez
alee defended Vera, stating that the aecusatiOns formulated against him were
merely an attempt to male him the scapegoat, for all the errors of the PCE. ,
Paredes eicpressed his opinion that Vera is the most intelligent and loyal of
all the members of the PCE.
24a Char ea ...a.gadeene/ Manuel Medina Castro:: Manuel Medina Castro was t1ao harshly
orit &tied at several sessions for "rightist deviations". He was recommended
for hie effective fight against the Grate line in the dispute regarding the
port of Guayaquila but was accused of acting on his own without advising higher,
Party authorities of his plans. Ana Moreno, Segundo Ramos, and cesario Valverde
accused him of acting nas.a simple citizenn, as though he had no ties with the
POE, and reported that he, Medinaa had made statements to the effect that he was
fed up with Party discipline. He was further accused of having advised certain
comrades to leave the Party if' they perceived that Party membership would bring
them no personal gain. He was accused of betraying the Party by insisting that
Communista in the Guayaquil area support J. Federico intriago in the recent
elections. (Vera was also accused by others of a similar nbetraya10.) The
accusations against Medina were of unusual bitternesa and almost resulted in a
fist fight between Medina and. Vera on the floor of the Congress.
25, Charges a ainstAiela Martinez: Nela Martinez' first appearance before the Con-
gress resu ,e irrii7gariTerein she stressed the need for criticism and self-
criticism if the Congress were to achieve 'any positive results. She thereafter
be:ea:Me the target of violent tirades of criticism. She read a political report
which -she had prepared and was immediately set upon by large numbers of dele-
gates, who charged that her document suffered from serious political and
"personalist!' errors. She wasaalso blamed for the failure of the Javentud
Comunista Femenina which, acedrding to her accusers, was sabotaged by Nela
Martinez' practice of urging young female Communists to join the POE directly,
withOut going through the JO stage. Prominent among her accusers was Patricio
Cueva Jaramillote a young Communist with only some eight months of militancy in
the Pas Her report to the Congress covered the following points:
a) The Executive Committee of the PCE, not Alfredo Vera Vera, was
responsible for the Communist support given J. Fedemino Intriago. This
resulted in violent criticism from the detractors of Vera.
b) The matter of Ricardo Paredes having signed ,a document appearing
in. the Colombian press should be investigated, and, if judged guilty,
Paredes should be punished accordingly. This resulted in Criticiam by the
'friends of Paredes.
c) The PCE is not supporting the Juventud Comunista. A SC member
should be appointed to the PCE Executive Committee to act as .a direct
liaison. A JC newspaper should be created and. supported by the PCE.
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This resulted in-criticiaa from the floor of Nela Martinzo role in the
je Femenina.
d) Comrades are not raising their children in accord with the
political line of the PCE. Dr. Alfonso Quijano Cobos was accused of
having his daughters in, a convent.
e) The PCE should fnrnish financial aid to Comrade Ernesto Rossi
Delgado 60' .1";h4tIle migh travel abroad for &t cal treatment. '
26. Char es p,..glinst Pedro Sea& Segundo Ralt0,5, led the attack against Pedro Saads
'EIiing hIjEter for77..g failure of the Communist labor movement in the
coastal areas' Rmross who ra5 originally slated for the post of Functional
Senator for Labors accused Saad and hie allies on the POE Executive Committee
of "dirty dealing" and fraud in cheating him s Ramoss ge of this post. He
went on to describe his history as a true member of the laboring class and
chided the Executive Committee for backing Saads rhos he stated, has never
worked a single day in his lifetime. This accusation caused considerable
reaction in the Congresas and violent partisans of Raws and Seth joined in
the battle of invective. Ramos was colpported from the floor by the few dele-
gates belonging te the laboring classs while Sad aa defended by the "intel-
lectual" majority. The supporters of Ssad countered by declaring Ramos a
degenerate drunkard and pointing out that only Saad has the necessary Party
background and political acumen to hold such an important post in the National
Assembly. Some of Sand's supporter an th,., floor adrirUted that his being
chosen instead of Remo 6 was somerh&., irregular but that it was in the true
interests of the Party. It was further stated that the Executive Committee
-would fully explain this matter to the entire membership of the Party in the
coastal area.3 in his charges against Beads Ramos also hurled insults at
Jaime Barrios and Ruben Calderons provoking considerable adverse criticism
from the audience. Saad thex, apologized to these twc vistting delegates for
the rude behavior of Ramos and asked the assemblr,d delegates to give a vote,
of oonfidence on their behalf. This acid= was folliawef y'A;b prolonged
applause from the floor. Rams lot r begradgingly ret-ated his statements
against Barrios and Oalderun Barrios was vi,,Tibly angrel., by Ramos ? statements
and asked the Congress to form a committee to inver,igatz-,; him and Calderon
ir order to assure all presen that they- re:ie a.-_,1nredited representatives
of their respective parties* It was lesrned later that Caldeion had sat in an
and actually participated in Exeuti',.?e Comaltee mest,ing whel it TIca.5 decided
to support Saad rather than Ra-W05 for the post of Functional Senator for Labor.
Calderon stated that he tsd voted for the "wore valuable" of the two
27. cliL,212.11 against Franklin Perez Castro: Alfredo Vera Vera opened the attack
eTs'Irarllin Perez Castro, accusing the latter of "leftist deviationes
leading to the virtual destruction of the PCE in Guayaquil. Perez was accused
of making no effort to follow thg, Pet:ty lines thaby spsiling the Pre-Paz
movements wri'th resultant coneusion from the cell. level to the provincial cam,-
mittee. He was further accused of attacking Enrique Gil Gilbert with his
fists and of later abandoning his Party du'iies to move to Salinass "where he
lives like any other bourgeois". Juaa Plc lq:;;CTae.:4 defended Perez, calling him
the most faithfuls hardworking POE member in the coastal area. Narvaez explained
that Perez had poured all his personal funds into Party work. He accused Vera
and other '..ivayaquil leaders of sabotaging the Pro-Paz anvemehts in order to
discredit Perez. Other delegates rarnily defended Pe:L'ez, pointing especially to
his goad work in organizing the Communist Party in Tungurahua.
28. Statements of Jose Maria Roura. revallos Jose Maria Room Cevalloss delegate
71767MITIncha, stated that "rfg1TaT-aeviatione had, all but destroyed 'the
effectiveness of the POE in the Province of Pichincha. He singled out Ricardo
Paredes., Maria Luisa Gomez de la Torres Nely Martine zs and Raymond Meriguet as
those.. responsible for having converted the Party into a scheming group of
gossips and rumor-mongers, asking the assembly to castigate these deviationists.
He stated that the accu5ed have considerable prestige as old-timers and that
they must therefore change their ways or be expelled before they corrupt the
yeunger up-and-coming Comyonists in the area. He then presented a plan for
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the intensification of propaganda among the laboring elassess aimed principally
at the nationalization or foreign business interests in Scuadora He stressed
his view that this is the only practical 'way to rid Scuador of foreiga imperi-
alists*
29* Statemeets of Jaime Baseios: The fraternal delegate from Colombia addressed
, the Congress for some three hour meet or welch was spent in tracing the
development of the PCC. He told of the tortures being inflicted on Communists
in Colombia,. including saeh outrages as the castration ef volandeds hospitalized
comrades. He went OA to say that all the represeive measures of Colombian
Conservatieen backed by Yankee Imperiallsms have served only to strengthen the
PCC s caeeiag more pereons to join the ceeee. He stated that, his country wae
coloseallzeetuped to anew the American Military Mieeion to train young
Colombians and then, march them oft to die in Koreas that American ageete swarm
over Colombia dressed in uniforms aed muftis and that all he 6o-called tech-
nical missions are mere Is cif the imperialists. According to Barrioss the
Colombian liberalgmrfilos axe retail UOICATIE116t5 but have universally recognized
the superiority of the dynamic: Commueist leaderenip and are aetively aiding the
Conamnist cause. Be steongly critieized the conduct of the Congress!, stating
that apparently the only reason the majority of the delegates present came to
Ambato vas to hurl insuLte at one another. He seated that such complete discord
in a country having suee propitious circumstances for the triumph of Communism
was another example of colossal stupidity, One point on which Barrios dwelt at
length was the necessity for all Communiste to live Communist lives and teach
all their relatives to be Communiets, He stated "If ee aren't capable of con-
vincing our familiess we shall convinee no one." Barrioe further discussed
unemployment in Colombia (Medellins banta Mertes C 3Tt gia 1 alle del Cauca,
Bogota), blaming it all on the Ameriean Imperialists. Barrios closed his
address by recommending "eternal revoluatorraeey vigilance" on the part of all
Members and more aiaeere work in Parey organIzational matters. In another short
'address he mentioned the coming Peiping Peace Conference and the fact that
Scuador would be allowed to seed 1? delegates. Be stated that this Conference
would be of eatreee importance and that, the PCS enoldei do ite best to send' a
,
delegation constituted primarilyof capable inteilectuals,
30. Statements of Ruben Calderon2 Ruben Calderons fraternal delegate from Cuba,
ITERIgg-idaieesed tEribongeese on several occasienes his speeches being mere
repetitions of the usual Party line. Calderon has reportedly been active in
PCE affairs since Mereh 1952 and has apparently been in Ecuador on. earlier
occasions as an advisor to the PCE. He is believed to be a eelative of the
Cuban Communist leaders Blae Rocas and reportedly uses the name Oaiderio when
traveling* At the Congress he advisee the PCS' to uadertuke a purge of its
ranks ho weed out the weak and vacillating, as veil as the infiltrated 'agents
of the "imperialist pewere", He further adveeed the establishment of Party
cadre schools to train new leaders. Referring to the CP of Gabes he stated
his belief that General Fulgenoio Batista will probably declare the Party
illegal, but indicated that the earty-was thoroughly prepared t) go under-
ground at any moment,
31. Javentud Comunistae Mueh mention was made throughout the Congress of the
TifgElua Comunistas which!, in the eapreesed opinione of most delegates, has
been sadly-neglected. Efrain Alvarez Fiallos delegate of the JO of Guayas,
was particularly active on the floor of Congress in deuaading that the Party
pay more attention to the JC and immediately set, about eStablishing JC groups
in each province where there are none at present. Pedro bead indicated that
the political line to be formalated as a result of the debates of the Congress
would put more emphasie on the necessity for developing the JC than was done
in the past, Patricio Cueva asked the Congress to eapel Jorge Maldonado
Reuella from the National Council of the JO for ineptitude. Maldonado has,
according to his accusers, been devoting most of his time to sales of the
Cominform newspapers Por una Paz puraderas while neglecting has more important
JC duties*
32* Communist influence amods, Indians s It was noted that no delegates of 'Malan-
cells were present at the Congress, nor was any mention made of the existence
of such cells, -Modesto Rivera stated that the Federacion de iadiee will soon
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be run entirely by indiane? members of the PtE, He further stated that cone
saderable progress has been mode in eetabliehaeg inJneatioas and that about
eight new unions had been. formed in Otovaio? three in Riobamtea and One in
bangolqui? in addition to those already .in existenee fer some time at
Cotacachi and Cayambe ivere stated that Maria, Lille& Gomez de la Torre hie
abandoned her work with the Indiane and has retired .oe a position of bourgeois
luxury at her comfortable home in Quito.
33. The closing session of the Ceagreeee were devoted primerily to reports by the
various commissions.
34.
Etat of the Organization Cemmiselon: The reading of the Organization Commis-
sion report &irked thic7t.,emporary end ofthe bitter pereenal accusations which
had heretofore been the principal activity of the ocnvention delegates.
Pramitivo Barret?, the outstanding member ?i both the Organization and Disci-
pline Commissions, read thin renort ? wbich purported to outline the new ,
political line of the Party. The report was fully approved by the Congress and
it was announced that a eompletely new document on Party organization mould be
published shortly after the Congrees for distribution to the entire membership
of the Party. Among the new feature reaciamended la the thle report were the
following:
Datroduc;tiou of a 6y6lt:evo. of Party idlin,titirattorA cards,, to be issued
to all PCE members.
b) Creation of cadre training schools for development of new leadership.
c) Printing of a'etemp to be used es a dueo reeeipt (euggestaon of Ruben
Calderon.
d) Devotion of epeciel attention to development of industry cellos made
up of members of the working eTaee.
e) Development of ao isereitment technique and process. 'Special
attention to Commueezation of the familiee of PCE membere.
f) Intensifieation of the fight for peaee and againet the military pact -
deltetien of all Party resources to this eed.
g)
Inteneification of the effort of Communiet intellectuals to unmask and
expel. the "decadent literature of the imperialistO flooding the
country (a proposal of Jorge Enrique Adoema Communist poet and member
of the Casa de la Cultura in Guayaquil).
h) Inauguration of a pion to raise Sal00?000 for payment of Party func-
tionaries throughout the country, ea weli ae for propaganda use.
1) Formation of cells of farmers throughout the country and establishment
of-a schedule of visits to be made to these eelle by PCE leaders.
Formation of a Confederacion de Campeeivee.
j) 'Development of a Moviziento Femeeliva end a Confederacion de Mujeres del
Ecuador,'
35.292,1:2.2 of the Discip/ine Cemmiseiong The report of the Diecepline Commission
was read by AqUirersVairtn? iniiireaplained the charges against several Party
members. The foilowing individuals were expelled from the Parlay
Alfredo Vera Vera and Manuel
and cautioned never again to
electoral candidates without
Committee.
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Pedro Barba
Hector Paamino
Ecuador Jaya .(aka Manuel Jaya)
Manuel Arenas Coello
Medina Caetro we:ye accused of "rightist deviation"
take the initiative in pledging PGE support to
first securing permission from the Executive
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36./lust of the Finance Commission? The ehort eeport of the Finance Commission
involved ig-faigiiiineTi6FairsIs
a) Establishment of dues stamps.
b) Education of Party members in financial responsibility.
0) Establishment of provincial control commissions to handle Party finan-
ces.
d) Development of new eources of finance, each as the Party press, private
social functions for Party benefit, book stores, collection from
friends and sympathizers of the Party.
e) Initiation of a country-wide fund-raising campaign.
The report indicated that the present status of PCE finance is "disastrous"
primarily because of the failure of dues collection throughout the Party. The
two principal sources of finances at present are interest payments derived
from investments of S/17?500 with the Federacion de Indios and 8/12?000 with
the *Ruminahuin press in Quito.
37. 2!2p2s1 of the Preen Commissions Pedro Ortiz Addas? administrator of the PCE
newspapers ii Pujsid? reed this report, in which it was explained that PCE
members throuiga7-Ehe country owe some S/89600 in payments for copies of El
Pueblo received and presumably sold, of which the Province of Guayas awes
approximately half.. It is decided that all these debts must be paid within
One month of the closing date of the Congress or sanctions will be employed.
It was recommended that all PCE entities receiving copies of El Pueblo remit
immediately to Quito the value of these papers and then retain the money
obtained from their sale. It Itua also recommended that all Party members
selling El Pueblot accompany the sale with a political eales-talk to insure
future purchases, Ortiz indicated that El Pueblo will be forced to suspend
publication if some solution to the paymeot prAdem is not worked out in the
near future,
38. Election of the Secretara Generals A list of candidates to compose the new
auguive body of the PCB was 6iwn up and presented to the Congress by the
Presidium, This list was the subject of a new wave of angry debates, since it
?vas composed of many persone who, in the expressed opinions of numerous dele-
gates present, have proven in the past that they lack the necessary attributes
of revolutionary vigor. First, it was necessary to elect a Secretary General,
and Franklin Perez Castro addressed the Congress asking that Pedro Seed be
unanimously elected, Juan Pio Narvaez seconded the motion, but Ana Moreno
endorsed Rafael Echeverria for this keyposition? stating that though he is
still young, he is the most outstanding, loyal; and capable member of the
PCE? Ricardo Paredes called upon the Congress to support Saad but injected a
sour note when he stated that it must be recognized that Bead has committed
serious errors in the past. He then explained that his support of Seed was
? only in the interests of "harmony within the Communist family*. Segundo Ramos?
then proposed that Primitivo Barreto be elected but later, and apparently with
considerable reluctance, voted for Seed. Saad was elected Secretary General
of the PCB by all but one vote, that of Ana Moreno,
39, When it cane time for the election of the Central Committee, Alfredo Vera,
whose name appeared on the list of nominees drawn up by the Presidium, asked
that his name be withdrawn. He stated that this was being done solely in the
interests of Party solidarity and asked permission to say a few words. When
this permission was granted he unleashed a series of against PCE
members in Guayaquil, putting special emphasis on Franklin Perez Castro and
Manuel Medina Castro, He accused Perez of being an irresponsible drunkard and
said Perez was courted by PCE solely because of his relatively good finan-
cial position, resulting in contributions to the Party, but portrayed himself
as a poor, loyal, hard-working Communist, This last blast at his enemies was
the subject of much unfavorable comnent from the floor and apparently enhanced
the prestige of Perez. The Cubvi delegate then discussed the personality of
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Vera arriving at, the cone2.11;7fidon that he is co.c the. type dascrfbed by Lenin as
a "Populisttl. The vot:thg fbr tne membves al Uie etra1 CcamIttes then took
place. The.foItc,wing erei.,aoted
Raraei tQu.ty3s, uali;nimoui)
Piyirnitive Barrto (-41.11 t unandmot )
Bucique, Gil Gilbert (Guayaq i9 Tutazimcnio
Oswaldo AabarnozQittoJ
Modesto Riv,,Jra
Marco Tull? Uram*,-, (Guayaquil)
Aquiles Valencia (kanabi)
jose Marla Roura Quc
Nela Martinez she asked. that her e.:lek:tion be unanimousp
? since th,-5, Central Ccmmittee desperately needed
her 2ervices)
Hernau Ar,J?bedo (Lojan native of Manabl)
jose Maria Davaos (Ambato)
Jesus Gualavisi (Ambat)
Segundo Ramos (Guayaquiln native of Babahoyo)
Neptali Pachec,:i (-Lona de Milagro)
Pascual. Palomino (Naranlal)
Franklin B.--u'ez Castro (Guayaquil)
11
404 The follcming indAviauaa mere elect-,,ed az1 al.berilate member of the Central
Committee2,
Guillerm Canarte Ouayaquil
Eduardo Ge;hza..Le',z
Jose Viiiat;recea, VAllacres)
Nej_scn Segura
Tirso Gomez -(quiti))
410 Many persons considered hAghly valivataii by the delegates were kept from the
? list by. a Party ruliug tha al member oi the Centra, Ourtatittee muat have
? at leazt four yearii. of fluainterrupted militancy". Two promialng young
Communists who Were rtx:ommended for :1,f1ive but impeded by this ruling were
Jaime Galarzan of Arzual and Juan Ariasn Of' Imbabura.
Dissenzion within the PCE 4 Lbates in. the CongTess revealed ela,easive and
bitter 5;yizal JnIgi-iiing numerous leade. of the Partr.am differentiated
from,amall-seale argmenta on the flco. Among the mom outstanding of the
many such cases reported. are the follang
Pedro aa6;
Rafael Echevetria ? vs? hica.J.io Paredes? supported by
Modesto Rivera Alfredo Vtira
Nela May.tinez ,
? Primitive Barretv3
Bolivar Sandoval,
Ana. Moreno -
Segundo Ramos
Cesario Valverde-
Al'fredo Verep tupported by
Ana Moreno
vs. 6eguhdr) Ramo,.F. '
Cesario Valverde
R12ardc Paredes
h5aa. W.sart,Lhe5,1,
Maptlifia Medilza Castrc
Patricio Guava JaramAilk,), V5. Neia Nartine2
Segundo Ramos 78.0 Pedro baaii
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Alfredo Vera
Manuel Medina Castro,: and
vs, Franklin 'Perez Castro,
the latter supported by
Juan Pio Narvaez
Ricardo Paredes
Jose Maria Roura vallos vs. Maria Luisa Gomez de la Torre
Nela Martinez
Raymond Meriguet
Modesto Rivera vs. Maria Luisa Gomez de la Torre
Ana Moreno vs. Pedro Snarl
43, The Fifth Congress of the PCE formally closed at 5:00 a.m.a GM 29 July 19520
after an allp.night session.
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1,
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2,
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3.
IComMent. One source reported 88 cell delegates, tWO foreign'
fraterriaMegates, and 15 alternates. Another source reported 82
cell delegates, two foreign fraternal delegates arid 21 alternates.
In each case the total is 105.
Comnent. Seed is Functional Senator for Labor, representing
coas Emis7; in the Ecuadoran National Assembly.
.:?,6202e1121. Previous reports have indicated considerable anti-Saad,.
pro-Ramos sentiment on the part of coastal labor groups.
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