The Portoviejo canton is an Ecuadorian subnational territorial entity, capital of the province of Manabí, in the Republic of Ecuador. Its cantonal head is the city of Portoviejo, where more than 72% of its total population is grouped. It is bordered to the north by the cantons of Rocafuerte, Sucre, Junín and Bolívar, to the south by the canton of Santa Ana, to the west by the canton of Montecristi and the Pacific Ocean and to the east by the cantons of Pichincha and Santa Ana. Once the independence of the Spanish domain is sealed, On May 24,1822, this land became the Department of the South and became part of Greater Colombia, founded by the liberator Simón Bolívar.
On June 25,1824 the province of Manabí was created and with it three manabite cantons: Portoviejo, Jipijapa and Montecristi. In this same year, through the Territorial Division Law of the Republic of Colombia, the Department was subdivided into the provinces of Guayaquil and Manabi. By means of this law Portoviejo fragments and increases a third canton to Manabí, Jipijapa, and when designating a Governor in front of the public administration, it placed to Manabí in plane of equality with Guayas. The capital was established in the city of San Gregorio de Portoviejo.