Radical Governments of Chile
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The Radical Governments of Chile were in power during the
The
Aguirre Cerda (1938-1941)
The first Radical President,
Pedro Aguirre Cerda promoted the development of the technical-industrial schools as a means to promote the formation of technicians for the nascent industrialization of the country. He also created thousands of new regular schools and the growth of the university system to cover the whole of the country.
A strong
The
During his first year he had to face the military opposition to his plans, that boiled over with the Ariostazo in August 1939, led by General Ariosto Herera and Ibáñez. The leaders of the attempted putsch, in particular General Herera, was strongly influenced by Italian fascism, where he had been military attaché in the 1930s.
Furthermore, Aguirre also campaigned for a
In 1941 due to his rapidly escalating illness, Aguirre appointed his minister of the Interior, Jerónimo Méndez as vice-president, and died soon after, on November 25, 1941.
Aguirre Cerda Government:[1]
He began his Government in very unfavorable conditions due to the January 1939 earthquake that devastated the provinces of Linares, Maule, Ñuble and Concepción. To mitigate the effects he created the Reconstruction and Relief Corporation.
One of his most fruitful initiatives was the creation of the Corporation for the Promotion of Production, Corfo, a technical body that marked the beginning of the industrialization process in the country. Corfo is responsible for the installation of numerous infrastructure works that allowed better quality for citizens.
Another of the pillars of his administration was education. Not in vain had he himself coined the phrase “Governing is educating”. To him is due the construction of more than 500 schools and numerous others aimed at professional education.
He had to face the international problems generated by World War II and the end of the Spanish Civil War. He also set the limits of the Chilean Antarctic Territory.
After almost three years of government, he died on November 24, 1941, victim of a serious illness. In accordance with the constitutional requirements, Jerónimo Méndez assumed the vice-presidency.
Juan Antonio Ríos (1941-1946)
The left-wings' coalition remained intact after President Aguirre's death, united by a common opponent, General
In 1944, the Radical Party itself presented to Ríos a serie of propositions which he deemed unacceptable. Those included the break-off of relations with
By breaking off relations with the Axis, President Ríos made Chile eligible for the United States' Lend-Lease program, and obtained loans necessary to help achieve an economic recovery. The close relations that emerged with the United States were, however, problematic for him at home. Furthermore, his refusal to implement the Radical Party's propositions (made in 1944) caused the resignation of all of the Radical ministers, leaving the President without a party. These internal divisions partly explained the right-wing success' during the 1945 legislative elections, which were a debacle for the Socialists and the Communists, who obtained close to no seats in Parliament. The Radicals themselves lost a number of seats.
Furthermore, the repression of riots on
González Videla (1946-1952)
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For the second times in five years, a
González was elected with 40% of the votes against 29% for the conservative candidate, Cruz Coke, and 27% for the liberal candidate Alessandri Rodríguez. Since González did not reach the necessary 50%, he had to be confirmed by Congress. He was duly confirmed on October 24 that year, following various negotiations between the parties, which led to the creation of a composite cabinet, including liberals, radicals and communists.
Once in the presidency, González had a fallout with the communists. Following the municipal elections, during which the Communist Party highly increased its representation, the PCC demanded more cabinet seats, which González refused to grant. On the other hand, afraid of the successes of the PCC, the Liberal Party withdrew from the cabinet. In June 1947, incidents during a strike affecting the public transports in Santiago led to several casualties and the proclamation of a
Finally, under the pressure of the United States, González enacted a
González's new supporters, which approved of his anti-communist stance, were the two right-wing parties, the
González's tough stance against social movements led to protest demonstrations, allegedly in an intent to repeat the events of the
In the parliamentary elections of 1949, the pro-government parties triumphed. However, the unity between right-wing parties and radicals and socialists did not last long. Radicals were unhappy with the economic policies of the right-wing Finance Minister, Jorge Alessandri, no matter how successful they were in controlling inflation. When a protest by government employees broke out in 1950, the radicals immediately declared their support for the protesters' demands. The right-wingers responded by resigning from González's cabinet.
By losing the liberal and conservative support, González lost the pro-government majority in Congress. He was of course unable to achieve much thereafter, but he did manage to do significant improvements for women's rights. González's cabinet had the first woman minister, he appointed the first woman ambassador, and created the Oficina de la Mujer.
Despite this political, social and economical instability, González's government did manage some important successes, including the complete integration of women to political life, the remodeling of the city of
References
- ^ Biografia. "History of Chile: Presidents. Pedro Aguirre Cerda (1938 - 1941)". BIOGRAFIA de Chile.
See also
- Presidential Republic Era