Luis Alfredo Palacio González (22 January 1939 – 22 May 2025) was an Ecuadorian cardiologist and politician who was the 44th president of Ecuador from 2005 to 2007. He had been the 44th vice president under President Lucio Gutiérrez, until he was appointed to the presidency when the Ecuadorian Congress removed Gutiérrez from power following a week of growing unrest with his government. He previously served as Minister of Health between 1994 and 1996.

Early life and medical career

Palacio was born in Guayaquil on 22 January 1939, the son of sculptor Alfredo Palacio Moreno and Ana María González. He grew up in a leftist family.

He completed his primary and secondary education at the Abdón Calderón School and the San José La Salle School in his native Guayaquil. Palacio worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio; the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Missouri and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. As a student in Guayaquil, Palacio participated with the Federation of University Students of Ecuador (FEUE) in protests against the government of José María Velasco Ibarra and the Military Junta. He took office on 11 November. He also stated that he would not join any party even if he were elected vice-president.

The police repression of a protest in Quito on 19 April resulted in numerous injuries and one death. Palacio protested vehemently, stating that "the people cannot shoot at the people (...) Gutiérrez cannot evade his responsibility (...) he must listen to the people (...) The country is falling apart". He also denounced the existence of a "diabolical plan orchestrated to disrupt the institutions".

The following day, the deputies, meeting in emergency session at the International Centre for Higher Communication Studies for Latin America (CIESPAL) because the National Congress building had been surrounded and assaulted by demonstrators, removed Lucio Gutiérrez as President of Ecuador. Shortly after, Palacio was sworn in as president by acting president of the Congress Cynthia Viteri and declared that "the people of Ecuador, particularly those of Quito, today put an end to dictatorship, immorality, arrogance, terror, and fear. [...] The people today have decided to refound the Republic, a Republic of hope, in whose streets, in whose green fields, and on whose paths dignity, hope, equity, and joy flourish and reign." The first measure he immediately took was to order the closure of the country's borders to prevent the escape of several politicians, including Gutiérrez. When a mob of protesters stormed the CIESPAL building demanding the dissolution of Congress and resignations, Palacio and some legislators took refuge on the upper floors, barricaded in the offices. There, he announced that he would not dissolve Congress and that he planned to convene a Constitutional Assembly to review the 1998 Constitution; he proposed a reform of the Election Law, ruled out early presidential elections, announced the revision of oil contracts and presented a technocratic government.

thumb|left|Palacio (second from right) at the first meeting of Heads of State of the South American Community of Nations, 30 September 2005

From the beginning of his term, he was unable to count on the support of any political party and governed against the constant opposition of the main political forces.

On 29 April 2005, in his first official speech at the Parcayacu Military School, Palacio announced the restoration of institutionality, constitutional reforms, decentralization and autonomy processes, and the payment of the social debt as his government's main priorities.

On 5 May 2005 the National Congress appointed Alejandro Serrano as the new Vice President of Ecuador at Palacio's proposal.

thumb|left|Palacio with United States president [[George W. Bush, 5 November 2005]]

In June 2005, sent to Congress a legal reform for the appointment of Supreme Court judges, which was called "The Ideal Court," and a legal reform to change the way presidents of the Republic are judged.

In August 2005, his Minister of Economy, Rafael Correa, resigned. He had proposed economic measures that clashed with Palacio, such as the proposal to eliminate the FEIREP (Petroleum Stabilization Fund) and replace it with the CEREPS, which was intended for public services; opposed the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and maintained a discourse against foreign debt and defending the country's economic sovereignty. Correa ultimately won the 2006 presidential election and succeeded Palacio as Ecuador's president on 15 January 2007.

In foreign policy, Palacio was critical of Colombia. He asked the president Álvaro Uribe to detain the fumigaciones in the border zone derived from Plan Colombia, of which he was critical and did not want to make Ecuador as a participant. This caused a distance from the United States government. However, this was rejected by the National Assembly, as some proposals involved constitutional changes that required parliamentary approval. On 25 September Palacio issued decree 1871 putting forward three proposals to a referendum. This was approved by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal on 4 October, which also set the date of the referendum for 26 November 2006, alongside the run-off for the presidential elections.

Palacio began his presidency with an approval rating of 53%. He left office with a 29% approval rating, according to a CEDATOS survey.

During his final weeks as president, Palacio was one of the candidates for the position of director-general of the World Health Organization. However before the election was held, he announced he would not be pursuing the position, preferring to concentrate on his presidency until the last day of his mandate.

After his brief stint in power, he returned to his hometown of Guayaquil, where he was no longer involved in politics and resumed his profession as a cardiologist. He founded the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (UEES), where he worked as a teacher and lecturer, and also presided the National Institute of Cardiology. The Government of Ecuador declared a two-day national mourning period. The funeral took place on 22 May in the cemetery of Parque de la Paz in the city of Daule, where Palacio was buried the following day.

Honors

  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru (2008).
  • National Order of Merit (Ecuador)