Alfaro Vive Carajo: un proyecto revolucionario influido por las experiencias guerrilleras del M-19 y de Tupamaros (1983-1986)

This article examines the distinctive and defining features of the Ecuadorian guerrilla organization Alfaro Vive Carajo. Revolutionary in nature, the group remained active between 1983 and 1991, although its origins can be traced back to the mid-1970s, and its armed activity had virtually come to an end by late 1986. The study adopts a transnational analytical perspective, highlighting the extent to which many of the organizational, tactical, and strategic dimensions of Alfaro Vive Carajo were influenced by Uruguay’s Movimiento de Liberación Nacional–Tupamaros and, above all, by Colombia’s M-19. As the article illustrates, however, this influence did not amount to a simple transplantation of external models. Rather, it was accompanied by an adaptive and pragmatic approach shaped by Ecuador’s specific conditions and, more particularly, those of Quito and Guayaquil, as settings that could accommodate guerrilla projects rooted in the use of political violence. To demonstrate this, the research draws on extensive documentary sources as well as testimonies from prominent members of the Alfaro Vive Carajo organization, interviewed specifically for this study. The analysis thus reveals that the circulation of ideas and the transnational collaboration among revolutionary organizations are essential to understanding the alfarista experience, which was constantly marked by tension (and contradiction) between revolutionary utopia and the realities of confronting the Ecuadorian state.