36.3.2: Instability and Coups

Shortly after President Juan Montero’s inauguration in December 1931, revolutionaries took control of some military ships and sunk them in the Bay of Coquimbo in what became known as the Escuadra uprising. Although the uprising was peacefully resolved, the string of events demonstrated to the public how fragile the new government was. Shortly thereafter, on June 4, 1932, planes from El Bosque Air Base flew over La Moneda, the presidential palace, causing Montero’s government to resign rather than call upon the army to put down the coup. That same night, the victorious revolutionaries, including Marmaduque Grove, Carlos Davila, and Eugenio Matte, proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Chile.

The Socialist Republic (1931-1932)

Socialist Republic March: March in support of the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Chile, in front of La Moneda Palace (June 12, 1932). Source: El Nuevo Sucesos.

The proclamation of a socialist republic took the country by surprise and divided public opinion immediately. The Communist Party of Chile (PCCh) and many trade unions opposed the Republic because they believed it to be militarist. The business community and many students also heatedly opposed the new political entity on ideological grounds. Ultimately, the new republic only received the guarded support of other socialists and some employees’ associations.

A few days following the establishment of the new republic, the junta dissolved Congress and, among other measures, stopped evictions from low-rental properties, decreed a three-day bank holiday, placed strict limits on bank withdrawals, and ordered the Caja de Credito Popular, a savings and loan bank for Chileans of modest means, to return pawned materials. Half-a-million free meals were ordered to be served daily to Chile’s unemployed. The government quickly ran short of funds, however, and ordered the police to raid all jewelry shops in Santiago, providing jewelers receipts that could be used to cash in for paper pesos by means of compensation in order to avoid the act being termed a confiscation. Credits and deposits in foreign currency in national and foreign banks operating within the country were also declared property of the state. Meanwhile, a General Commissariat of Subsistence and Prices was also established with the authority to fix the price of staple foods.

Within the junta, differences of opinion began to sharpen. Followers of General Ibanez opposed the radicalization of the socialist movement, which was headed by Marmaduque Grove and Eugenio Matte. On June 13, 1932, Carlos Davila resigned in protest, and three days later on June 16, he expelled the socialist members of government and replaced them with his own supporters with the support of the army. Grove and Matte were arrested and exiled to Easter Island and Davila proclaimed himself provisional president of the socialist republic. He also declared a state of emergency, press censorship, and a number of centrally-planned economic measures.

However, Davila did not have enough support from the public or the military to remain in his position indefinitely, and he was forced to resign on September 13, 1932. The presidency then passed on to General Bartolome Blanche, who was subsequently replaced due to the threat of a military uprising by President of the Supreme Court Abraham Oyanedel. Oyanedel immediately called for presidential and congressional elections. Tired of political instability, the Chilean people voted center-right candidate and former president Arturo Alessandri into office. Alessandri relied upon republican forces during the first four years of his presidency to repress revolts and asked Congress on several occasions to declare a state of emergency in order to act against perceived insubordination before it could turn violent. These precautions were not unwarranted either, with the rise of the Nazi-inspired National Socialist Movement of Chile and a number of rural rebellions occurring.

Meanwhile, economic recovery in the wake of the Great Depression was under way. Treasury Minister Gustavo Ross, a pragmatic liberal, balanced the fiscal deficit with new taxes and resumed payments of external debts. When a surplus was achieved, public works became the new focus of the government, and projects like the construction of the National Stadium in Santiago began.

The Radical Governments (1938-1952)

The Radical Party of Chile was founded during the mid-19th century based upon the principles of the 1789 French Revolution, upholding values of liberty, equality, solidarity, participation, and well-being. It finally succeeded in achieving power from 1938 to 1952 due to the Popular Front left-wing coalition, although its cabinets were haunted by ongoing parliamentary instability. The first Radical President, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, was a teacher and lawyer from University of Chile. He was elected in 1938 as a candidate from the Popular Front, narrowly defeating conservative Gustavo Ross due to the political backlash caused by the Seguro Obrero massacre, which followed an attempted coup d’etat by the National Socialist Movement of Chile.

Cerda promoted the development of technical-industrial schools as a means of promoting the industrialization of the country and created thousands of new primary, secondary, and higher education schools. Following a devastating earthquake that hit Chile on January 24, 1939, Cerda’s cabinet created the Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion (CORFO) to encourage an ambitious program of import substitution industrialization. During this time, the Empresa Nacional del Petoleo (ENAP) state oil company was created, as well as a state electricity company, steel holding,and sugar company. He faced military opposition to his plans, particularly in the first year of his presidency. Opposition boiled over with the Ariostazo in August 1939, an attempted putsch led by General Ariosto Herera and General Carlos Ibanez del Campo. General Herera had been strongly influenced by Italian fascism.

The German-Soviet Non Aggression Pact of 1939 led to a dismantling of left-wing coalitions and the Comintern denounced the Popular Front strategy. However, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Chilean Communist Party joined the government again and the left-wings’ coalition remained intact following Cerda’s resignation and death. An election was held in February 1942 and Juan Antonio Rios, a member of the conservative wing of the Radical Party, won with 55.7% of the votes. Rios’ presidency was marked by parliamentary instability and rivalries among cabinet members who held different political stances. The Chilean Communist Party opposed Rios on the grounds that he chose neutrality in the Second World War and refused to break off diplomatic relations with Axis Powers. Meanwhile, members of the right-wing accused him of complacency in dealing with left-wing infractions. The Chilean Socialist Party accused Rios of going too easy on large firms and criticized his refusal to pass labor legislation protecting workers.

The Radical Party itself touted policy in 1944 that Rios found unacceptable. Their propositions included an end to relations with Francoist Spain, political recognition of the USSR, and stacking Rios’ cabinet with Radical members. Rios had already been forced via economic and diplomatic pressure to break off relations with Axis Powers in 1943, which made Chile eligible for the U.S. Lend-Lease program, aiding in economic recovery. Unfortunately, the close relations with the United States that this entailed created further problems for Rios at home, and his continued refusal to implement Radical Party policies caused the entirety of his cabinet to resign, effectively leaving the President without a party. As a result, the Radical Party lost a number of parliamentary seats in the legislative elections of 1945, and the right-wing gained in congressional representation. Faced with a diagnosis of terminal cancer and unrest at home, Rios gave up his presidential powers in January 1946, and for the second time in five years, a presidential election was held on September 4, 1946.

Left-wing Radical Party candidate Gabriel Gonzalez Videla won the September 1946 election, this time with the Radical Party allying itself with the Communist Party instead of the Democratic Alliance. However, because Gonzalez only received 40% of the votes, Congress had to confirm his appointment, which led to various party negotiations and the creation of a composite cabinet of liberals, radicals, and communists. Once in office, Gonzalez had a fall out with the communists when he refused to grant them more cabinet seats following their success in municipal elections. The Liberal Party, meanwhile, threatened by the successes of the Communist Party, withdrew from the cabinet. Eventually, due to pressure from the United States, President Gonzalez enacted a Law of Permanent Defense of the Democracy, which outlawed the Communist Party and banned more than 20,000 people from electoral lists. These actions gleaned new supporters for Gonzalez’s government from among conservatives and liberals.

Detention centers were re-opened and used to jail communists, anarchists, and other revolutionaries, though no detainee was executed during this period. Many prominent communists, such as Senator Pablo Neruda, fled into exile, and a number of pro-communist strikes and demonstrations were suppressed. In fact, a number of strikes in the sectors of public transportation and mining throughout the year 1947 prompted Gonzalez to make increasing use of emergency laws, which in turn led to further protest demonstrations. On the far right of the spectrum, the pig trotters’ conspiracy attempted a military  coup to bring Carlos Ibanez back to power. The coup was unsuccessful and an investigation was ordered on the coup leaders, leading to many arrests. Ibanez himself was absolved of all responsibility, however.

In the parliamentary elections of 1949, 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, though they were moderately successful in controlling inflation. When a protest by government employees erupted in 1950, radicals immediately sided with the protesters and right-wingers resigned en masse from Gonzalez’s cabinet. As a result, Gonzalez lost the pro-government majority in Congress and was unable to achieve much policy-wise thereafter. Nonetheless, he remained a champion for women’s rights, installing the first woman cabinet minister, the first woman ambassador, and creating the Oficina de la Mujer.

The Birth of Mass Politics (1952-1964)

Due to the protectionist policies of the radical governments and their predecessors, Chile had developed a strong, national industry, which led to a renewal of the economic and social structure of the country. For the first time in its history, agriculture ceased being the primary productive sector, and mining and the service sector became increasingly important to the national economy. At the same time, Chile’s political climate was becoming increasingly divided. The 1952 presidential election was carved up among many competing parties, including conservatives, liberals, socialists, radicals, and an emerging centrist Christian Democrat Party, which had support from a large specter of personalities. Additionally, for the first time in Chile’s history, women’s suffrage was legalized.

Allende supporters: A crowd of people marching to support the election of Salvador Allende for president in Santiago, Chile.

Four candidates stood up in the 1952 election. Arturo Matte was the centrist candidate presented by the Conservative and Liberal parties; Salvador Allende served as the Socialist Party’s candidate in his first candidacy to the presidency; the Radical Party supported Pedro Enrique Alfonso; and General Carlos Ibanez ran for the office as an independent. Ibanez campaigned on a platform of eliminating political corruption, but remained vague in his proposals and provided no clear position as to his position within the political spectrum. He won the election on September 5, 1952, with 46.8% of the popular vote. Ibanez’s election was ratified by Congress and he took office on December 4.

Once in office, Ibanez focused on rallying his supporters to win a majority in the 1953 legislative elections. His supporters consisted of the right-wing Partido Agrario Laborista (PAL) and dissidents within the Socialist Party, which had formed the Popular Socialist Party. Some feminist political unions also lent their support to Ibanez. Many such supporters stacked Ibanez’s initial cabinet, which despite its internal fragility, helped to win some seats in the 1953 elections. Nonetheless, Ibanez remained at the mercy of an unified opposition during his tenure as president.

Ibanez left much of the governing during his second term to his cabinet, and indeed his second term progressed as a modest political success. Ibanez won the support of many left-wingers by repealing the Ley de Defensa de la Democracia (Law for the Defense of Democracy), which had banned the Communist Party. However, in 1954, a copper mine strike spread across the country, and Ibanez proclaimed a state of siege in response. Congress immediately opposed this executive measure and put an end to it. Ibanez also froze wages and prices in order to put an end to the chronic inflation of the Chilean economy. Unfortunately, these same policies stopped growth and inflation continued to skyrocket, leading to relative civil unrest.

A movement of Ibanistas, consisting mainly of young army officers and inspired by the movement surrounding Argentine President Juan Domingo Peron, formed groups aimed at creating a new dictatorship under Ibanez. Controversy erupted when the public learned that Ibanez met with these conspirators. Additionally, Ibanez’s hostility towards the Federacion de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile student trade union led to outbreaks of violence during demonstrations. As a result, PAL withdrew itself from Ibanez’s government, leaving him isolated. Meanwhile, the Radicals, Socialists, and Communists organized the Frente de Accion Popular (Front for Popular Action) and concentrated their efforts around presidential candidate Salvador Allende.

Attributions

• Instability and Coups
  • “Socialist Republic of Chile.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Chile. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Ariostazo.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariostazo. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Presidential Republic (1925-73).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Republic_(1925%E2%80%9373). Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “History of Chile.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chile. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Radical Governments of Chile.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Governments_of_Chile. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Allende_supporters.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allende_supporters.jpg. Wikimedia Commons Public domain.
  • “SocialistRepublic.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SocialistRepublic.jpg. Wikimedia Commons Public domain.