The monument to Vicente Rocafuerte stands near the Malecón 2000 and commemorates the first native-born president of Ecuador, who governed from 1835 to 1839. Rocafuerte was a liberal reformer who abolished the death penalty and pushed for public education at a time when most Latin American nations were still consolidating their independence and grappling with the aftermath of Spanish colonial rule.
The monument is one of several civic statues along the riverfront promenade. It makes a natural stop on a walk along the Malecón rather than a destination in itself, but provides a useful moment to understand one of Ecuador's foundational political figures.