17th and 21st President of Chile (1920-24, 1925, 1932-38)
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Alessandri
and the second or maternal family name is
Palma
.
Arturo Alessandri
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Alessandri_Ulk_%281932%29.jpg/220px-Alessandri_Ulk_%281932%29.jpg) |
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In office
24 December 1932 ? 24 December 1938
|
Preceded by
| Abraham Oyanedel
(acting)
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Succeeded by
| Pedro Aguirre Cerda
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In office
12 March 1925 ? 1 October 1925
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Preceded by
| Emilio Bello Codesido
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Succeeded by
| Luis Barros Borgono
(acting)
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In office
23 December 1920 ? 9 September 1924
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Preceded by
| Juan Luis Sanfuentes
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Succeeded by
| Luis Altamirano
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In office
1949 ? 24 August 1950
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Succeeded by
| Arturo Matte Larrain
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In office
22 June 1949 ? 24 August 1950
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Succeeded by
| Fernando Alessandri
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In office
22 May 1945 ? 31 May 1949
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Preceded by
| Jose Francisco Urrejola Menchaca
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Succeeded by
| Humbero Alvarez Suarez
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In office
1944 ? 15 May 1949
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Preceded by
| Amador Pairoa Trujillo
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In office
22 April 1918 ? 6 September 1918
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President
| Juan Luis Sanfuentes
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Succeeded by
| Pedro Garcia de la Huerta Izquierdo
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In office
16 June 1913 ? 17 November 1913
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President
| Ramon Barros Luco
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Preceded by
| Manuel Rivas Vicuna
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Succeeded by
| Ricardo Salas Edwards
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Born
| (
1868-12-20
)
December 20, 1868
Longavi
,
Chile
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Died
| August 24, 1950
(1950-08-24)
(aged 81)
Santiago
,
Chile
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Political party
| Liberal
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Spouse
| Rosa Ester Rodriguez
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Children
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Alma mater
| University of Chile
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Profession
| Lawyer
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Signature
| ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Firma_Alessandri_Palma.png/128px-Firma_Alessandri_Palma.png) |
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Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma
(
Latin American Spanish:
[a??tu?o
ale?sand?i
?palma]
; December 20, 1868 ? August 24, 1950) was a
Chilean
political figure
and reformer who served thrice as
president of Chile
, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1938.
Early life
[
edit
]
Arturo Alessandri during his youth.
Arturo Alessandri was the son of Pedro Alessandri Vargas and Susana Palma Guzman. His grandfather, Pietro Allesandri Tarzi, was an Italian immigrant from
Tuscany
who had arrived in Chile from Argentina. Alessandri’s father, Pedro, became head of the family at the age of 19; at the time of Alessandri’s birth, he ran an estate in
Longavi
. At the age of 12, Alessandri enrolled at the
Sacred Hearts High School
, where his brothers and father had studied.
At the age of 20, Alessandri began his legal studies at the
University of Chile
.
[1]
In 1891, while studying, he participated in the newspaper
La Justicia
, which was opposed to then President
Jose Manuel Balmaceda
. After graduating in 1893, Alessandri married
Rosa Ester Rodriguez Velasco
, with whom he had 9 children.
In 1897, Alessandri began his political career, becoming a member of the
Liberal Party
and representative of
Curico
, a seat he would keep for nearly 20 years. In 1915, already aspiring to the presidency, Alessandri challenged the senator of
Tarapaca Province
,
Arturo del Rio
; he won a hard-fought victory, from where he earned the nickname of "Leon de Tarapaca" ("Lion of Tarapaca").
In 1920, Alessandri was the
Liberal Alliance
candidate for president, narrowly defeating his opponent of the Coalition Party,
Luis Barros Borgono
. With speeches favoring the working class, Alessandri alarmed Chilean conservatives, who felt their interests were in jeopardy. Since the opposition controlled the National Congress, Alessandri favored strengthening the executive power, which lacked political weight before the Congress (
Parliamentary Era
).
First administration
[
edit
]
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
ruido de sables
(or "saber-rattling"). The next day the same group of young military officers led by Colonel
Marmaduque Grove
and Major
Carlos Ibanez 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.
At that point, Alessandri felt that he had become just a pawn of the military and on September 9, he resigned, and requested asylum at the US Embassy. Congress refused to accept his resignation, and instead granted him a six-month constitutional leave of absence. He left the country immediately for Italy. On September 11, a military Junta — the
September Junta
— was established to rule the country in his absence.
Second administration
[
edit
]
Official portrait of Arturo Alessandri.
Arturo Alessandri
(sitting in center) together with his
Ministers of State
, in April 1934.
Arturo Alessandri,
Gustavo Ross
and
Ulk
The September Junta was not homogeneous, and quickly a progressive wing, headed by
Marmaduke Grove
and
Carlos Ibanez del Campo
, developed contacts with the
Comite Obrero Nacional
and others labour organizations who advocated for Alessandri's return. This led to a
coup in January 1925
, directed by Colonel Grove who handed out the power to General
Pedro Dartnell
as interim president while waiting for Alessandri's return. Dartnell formed the
January Junta
, before retroceding the power to Alessandri on March 20, 1925. Alessandri had
a new Constitution drafted
, and approved by
plebiscite
by 134,421 voters on August 30. The Constitution, which was promulgated on September 18, 1925, reinforced presidential powers over the legislative. Furthermore, Alessandri created a
Central Bank
, initiating the first rupture with
laissez faire
policies.
[2]
His 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
, soon followed by
La Coruna massacre
. This break with the working classes caused him to try to maintain a right-wing-radical alliance until 1937, when it took a turn towards the left. In order to face the threats of a coup, Alessandri relied on the republican forces, entrusted with repressing any intent to revolt and never to get involved in politics. They were created shortly before Alessandri's return, as a consequence of the civil movement. They functioned in secret and then publicly, marching in a great parade May 7, 1933, in front of the President, who saluted them. They auto-disbanded in 1936, having considered their mission complete. The President asked the Parliament on several opportunities for the state of constitutional exception, resulting in illegal actions, such as the famous burning of the
Topaze
Magazine issue No. 285, which depicted a caricature of Alessandri he considered offensive.
That time was also marked by the appearance of new violent occurrences, such as the rural rebellion of Ranquil and their bloody repression, and the
Nazi
-inspired
National Socialist Movement of Chile
of
Jorge Gonzalez von Marees
. In the economic sphere, the recovery of the
crisis of 1929
was begun with the work of the Treasury Minister
Gustavo Ross
, a pragmatic liberal who implemented a "towards in" approach to growth. With respect to nitrates, he dissolved
COSACH
and created the
COVENSA
(Corporation of Nitrate and Iodine Sale), a multi-faceted distributor and not a producer. He balanced the fiscal deficit with new taxes and resumed payment of the external debt, with losses for holders of Chilean bonds. When they reached a surplus, they focused on public works. The construction of the
National Stadium
in Santiago, inaugurated in December 1938, stands out.
The degree of Alessandri's responsibility in the 1938
Seguro Obrero massacre
has been a subject of speculation.
[
citation needed
]
Public life after the presidency
[
edit
]
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 Rios
, 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 Gonzalez 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.
Honours and awards
[
edit
]
Arms of Arturo Alessandri as knight of the
Order of the Dannebrog
Foreign Honours
[
edit
]
Denmark
:
Portugal
:
Spain
:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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