 Periodic border disputes, arising from the lack of clear borders under the Spanish, were combined with occasional attempts to recreate Greater Colombia to produce tensions.In 1861, conservative Gabriel Garcia Moreno (1821–75) became president of Ecuador and soon attempted to unify his country, which was sharply divided by class, regional, and language differences, by handing over much power to the Roman Catholic Church, which he considered to be the people's chief social tie to achieving a sense of nationalism.That decision deeply polarised Ecuadorian politics, as liberals generally viewed the Church as an obstacle to social and political progress.