Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an political figure and reformer who served thrice as

president of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1938. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Early life

Arturo Alessandri was the son of Pedro Alessandri Vargas and Susana Palma Guzmán. His grandfather, Pietro Allesandri Tarzi, was an Italian immigrant from

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

who had arrived in Chile from Argentina in 1850. 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 Longaví. 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 The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

.'' The International Who's Who 1943-44''. 8th edition. George Allen & Unwin, London, 1943, p. 11. In 1891, while studying, he participated in the newspaper ''La Justicia'', which was opposed to then President José Manuel Balmaceda. After graduating in 1893, Alessandri married Rosa Ester Rodríguez Velasco, with whom he had 9 children. In 1897, Alessandri began his political career, becoming a member of the

and representative of Curicó, a seat he would keep for nearly 20 years. In 1915, already aspiring to the presidency, Alessandri challenged the senator of Tarapacá Province, Arturo del Río; he won a hard-fought victory, from where he earned the nickname of "León de Tarapacá" ("Lion of Tarapacá"). In the

1920 Chilean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Chile on Friday, June 25, 1920. The Liberal Alliance (Chile), Liberal Alliance candidate Arturo Alessandri defeated the National Union candidate Luis Barros Borgoño in the last Chilean presidential election t ...

, Alessandri was the Liberal Alliance candidate for president, narrowly defeating his opponent of the Coalition Party, Luis Barros Borgoño. With speeches favoring the working class, Alessandri alarmed Chilean conservatives, who felt their interests were in jeopardy. Alessandri's campaigning was characterized by "great personal energy and scathing denunciation of the oligarchy", promising sweeping reforms. Since the opposition controlled the National Congress, Alessandri favored strengthening the executive power, which lacked political weight before the Congress ( Parliamentary Era).

First administration

Alessandri used executive powers to intervene in the 1924 parliamentary elections, resulting in a larger majority for the Liberal Alliance in the Senate and command of the Chamber of Deputies. 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 Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

, 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

The September Junta was not homogeneous, and quickly a progressive wing, headed by Marmaduke Grove and

, developed contacts with the '' Comité 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 A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

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 A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

, initiating the first rupture with

laissez faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

policies.Intervenciones militares y poder factico en la politica chilena (de 1830 al 2000)
, Luis Vitale, 2000 (p.38) 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 Coruña 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 Ránquil and their bloody repression, and the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-inspired National Socialist Movement of Chile of Jorge González von Marées. 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 Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

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.

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 Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

, 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 Jorge Eduardo Alessandri Rodríguez (; 19 May 1896 – 31 August 1986) was the 26th president of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970, which he lost to Salvador A ...

, was president of Chile from 1958 to 1964.

Honours and awards

Foreign Honours

: * Grand Cross with Diamonds of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

(4 October 1937) : * PRT Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword (6 July 1925) : * Spanish Grand Cross of Naval Merit Ribbon

Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit (1912)

References

External links

San Gregorio Massacre
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alessandri Palma, Arturo Fortunato 1868 births 1950 deaths People from Linares Province

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri 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 ...