Arturo Alessandri

61
Arturo Alessandri bigraphy, stories - President of Chile

Arturo Alessandri : biography

December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950

Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer, who served twice as the President of Chile, first between 1920 and 1924, and then again in 1925, and finally from 1932 until 1938.

Early life

He was son of Pedro Alessandri Vargas, son of an Italian immigrant, and Susana Palma Guzmán. His father was dedicated to the agricultural labor of the estate in which he lived. At the age of 12 he entered the Sacred Hearts High School, run by French priests, where his brothers were studying and his father had studied.

He started his law career by beginning studies at the University of Chile at the age of 20, graduating in 1893. In 1891, while studying, he participated in the newspaper "La Justicia", which was in opposition to the President of the time, José Manuel Balmaceda. After graduating as a lawyer, he married Rosa Ester Rodríguez Velasco, with whom he had 9 children.

He began his political life in 1897, entering the Liberal Party, and assuming the position of representative of Curicó, where he would be re-elected for almost 20 years. In 1915, already showing his first presidential aspirations, he challenged the senator of the province of Tarapacá, Arturo del Río. Alessandri won a disputed and violent election, from where he earned the nickname of León de Tarapacá (Lion of Tarapacá), due to his charisma, his popularity with the people and his public-speaking abilities.

In 1920 he ran for President of the Republic for the Liberal Alliance , defeating by a narrow margin his opponent of the Coalition (now named the National Union since it incorporated the Conservative Party) Luis Barros Borgoño. With his speeches favoring the working class, he caused great fear in the more conservative sectors of Chilean society, which saw its interests in jeopardy. Since the opposition controlled the National Congress, Alessandri favored strengthening the executive power, which lacked political weight before the Congress (Parliamentary Era).

Public life after the presidency

His political life did not end with his presidency. Due to the death of the communist Senator of Curico, Talca, Linares and Maule, Amador Pairoa, he participated in a complementary Senatorial election and won, returning to the Senate on November 8. In 1949 he was reelected but this time for Santiago, while also chosen to be President of this body.

He was of vital importance in the presidential elections of 1942 and 1946, in the first by causing a division of votes of the liberals, supporting Juan Antonio Ríos, and in the second by presenting himself as a preliminary candidate of the liberals. He later yielded his candidacy to his son Fernando, resulting in the division of the presidential candidates of the right and conservative support for Dr. Eduardo Cruz-Coke, in turn favoring the victory of Gabriel González Videla. While President of the Senate of Chile, Alessandri died at the age of 82, on August 24, 1950, and was replaced by his son Fernando Alessandri. One of his other sons, Jorge Alessandri, was president of Chile from 1958 to 1964.

Notes

First administration

During most of 1924, Chile had been politically paralyzed by a conflict between the President and the conservatively controlled Congress, who refused to enact the laws that he submitted. On September 3, 1924 a group of 56 military officers protested for their low salaries, in the incident known as the saber-rattling (ruido de sables). The next day the same group of young military officers led by Colonel Marmaduque Grove and Major Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, created the "military committee" to defend themselves from the government. On September 5, the "military committee" demanded of President Alessandri the dismissal of three of his ministers, including the Minister of War; the enactment of a labor code, the passage of an income tax law, and the improvement of the military salaries. Alessandri had no option but to appoint General Luis Altamirano, the Army Inspector General, as head of a new cabinet. On September 8, General Altamirano appeared in front of Congress to demand the passage of eight laws, including Alessandri’s labor code. Congress didn’t dare to protest, and the laws were passed in a matter of hours.