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Emiliano Alessandri Biography & Facts

The Presidential Republic (Spanish: República Presidencial) is the period in the history of Chile spanning from the approval of the 1925 Constitution on 18 September 1925, under the government of Arturo Alessandri Palma, to the fall of the Popular Unity government headed by the President Salvador Allende on 11 September 1973. The period spans the same time as the "Development inwards" (Desarrollo hacia adentro) period in Chilean economic history. Carlos Ibáñez and Arturo Alessandri Palma Headed by Colonel Marmaduque Grove, left-wing troops deposed the September Junta in the 1925 coup, and handed power to General Pedro Dartnell as interim president, with the hope of recalling Arturo Alessandri Palma from exile. Dartnell, however, decided to form another junta, the January Junta, which ended with Alessandri's return on March 20, 1925. Alessandri had a new Constitution drafted, and approved in a referendum by 134,421 voters on August 30. The Constitution, which was promulgated on September 18, 1925, reinforced presidential powers over the legislature. Furthermore, Alessandri created a Central Bank, initiating the first rupture with classical liberalism's laissez faire policies. Alessandri's second government began with the support of left-wing and radical groups. However, this second group began to distance itself from the President. In March 1925, Alessandri's government repressed a demonstration, leading to the Marusia massacre (500 deaths), soon followed by La Coruña massacre. Henceforth, Alessandri encountered opposition from his own Minister of Defence, Colonel Carlos Ibáñez del Campo who had also participated to the January 1925 coup and also enjoyed support from the masses. Alessandri wanted to run only one official candidate in the presidential election — himself — while Ibáñez gave his support to a manifesto drafted from various political parties which called on him to run as a candidate. This crisis led to the cabinet's resignation. Ibáñez then published an open letter to the President, recalling him that he could only issue decree through his approbation, as he was the only minister of the cabinet. Alessandri then decided to nominate Luis Barros Borgoño as Minister of Interior, and resigned a second time from the presidency on October 2, 1925. This break with the working classes caused Alessandri to try to maintain a right-wing-radical alliance until 1937, when it took a turn towards the left. Emiliano Figueroa Larraín (1925–1927) Alessandri's resignation prompted Ibáñez to convince the parties to find a common candidacy, as required by Alessandri. Emiliano Figueroa Larraín, the candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party, was thus chosen as the governmental candidate, and was elected in October 1925 with nearly 72% of the votes, defeating José Santos Salas from the Social Republican Worker's Union. Alessandri had been confronted by increased opposition from his popular Minister of Defence, Ibáñez. Both had struggled over the purging of the justice apparatus, Ibáñez opposing in particular the President of the Supreme Court, Javier Ángel Figueroa Larraín, who was Emiliano's brother. In February 1927, Ibáñez succeeded in being designated as Minister of Interior (who, in case of a vacancy in the presidency, would be designated Vice President of Chile - in the Chilean context effectively the designated acting president), and in convincing President Figueroa to resign in April 1927. Ibáñez thus took his place as vice president and called for elections. He ran against communist Elías Lafertte, and won in May 1927 with 98% of the vote. Carlos Ibáñez (1927–1931) Carlos Ibáñez's administration remained popular until the outbreak of the Great Depression in 1931. He exercised dictatorial powers and suspended parliamentary elections, instead naming politicians to the Senate and Chamber of Deputies himself. Freedom of press was restricted, 200 politicians were arrested or exiled (among whom were Alessandri and his former ally Marmaduque Grove), the Communist Party was proscribed, and the workers' movement repressed. Before these actions, Congress allowed Ibáñez to rule by decree, finding support in Minister of Finances Pablo Ramírez. In 1929, Ibáñez requested from Chile's political parties a list of their candidates for the general elections, in order to select for himself which ones would be permitted to campaign. Ibáñez then traveled to the resort town of Termas de Chillán, from where he selected members of both houses. The resulting legislative body which emerged from his choices became known as the “Congreso Termal.” Ibánez's popularity was buoyed by loans from American banks, which helped to promote a high rate of growth in the country and the launching important public works projects. He ordered the construction of canals, bridges, prisons, ports, the Palace of Cerro Castillo in Viña del Mar, restoration of the façade of La Moneda, and increased public spending. Ibáñez also reformed the police in 1927, merging the Fiscal Police, the Rural Police, and the Cuerpo de Carabineros into the Carabineros de Chile; he also appointed himself their first Director General. Ibáñez also created the Chilean Air Force, LAN Airlines and the COSACH. In June 1929, Ibáñez signed the Treaty of Lima with Peru, whereby Chile agreed to return Tacna Province—which had been seized during the War of the Pacific—to Peru in exchange for financial compensation. Ibáñez's popularity diminished once the effects of the Great Crash started to be felt in Chile at the end of 1930. The prices of saltpeter and copper, on which the Chilean economy depended, plummeted. As a result, all loans were halted and recalled. With no influx of foreign currency and protectionist policies in the United States and Europe, Chile was nearly bankrupt. Tens of thousands of workers in the country's northern mines became unemployed within weeks. Although Ibáñez's government increased export taxes to 71% and imposed restrictions on exit of devises, he did not the balance of trade, leading to a depletion of Chile's gold reserves. On July 13, 1931, Ibáñez named a "Cabinet of National Salvation" (Gabinete de Salvación Nacional) whose members included Pedro Blanquier and Juan Esteban Montero. Ibáñez's popularity dropped further as Blanquier's revelations on the state of Chile's finances were disseminated widely by Montero's relaxed censorship of the press. Ibáñez's lavish public spending did not alleviate the situation; his opponents, primarily the exiled Grove and Alessandri, began to plan a comeback. Several conspiracies attempted to remove Ibáñez from power. Public unrest followed, during which students from the University of Chile and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile protested, later joined by physicians and lawyers. Carabineros killed more than ten people, resulting in Ibáñez's resignation on July 26, 1931, followed by his exile the next day. Before leaving, Ibáñez designated Pedro Opazo as his successor; he, in .... Discover the Emiliano Alessandri popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Emiliano Alessandri books.