Manuel Antonio Matta Goyenechea (

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

, February 27, 1826 –

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, June 12, 1892) 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 politician, lawyer and writer and founder of the

Radical Party of Chile The Radical Party (Spanish: ''Partido Radical'') was a Chilean political party. It was formed in 1863 in Copiapó by a split in the Liberal Party. Not coincidentally, it was formed shortly after the organization of the Grand Lodge of Chile, and ...

along with Pedro Leon Gallo.

Biography

Born on February 27, 1826, in

, the son of the Chilote mining entrepreneur and public figure, Eugenio de Matta Vargas, and Petronila María Mercedes Goyenechea de la Sierra. His siblings were: Pedro Nolasco, Francisco de Paula, Felipe Santiago, Guillermo and María Mercedes Matta Goyenechea. Although he was born in the northern city of Copiapó, he lived most of his life in the capital

, where he was educated. He entered the school of Mrs. Josefa Cabezón de Villarino, the Seminario Conciliar and later the

Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, often shortened to Instituto Nacional (National Institute), is a public middle and high school in downtown Santiago, Chile which teaches 4.400 students between 7th and 12th grade. 170 teachers are ...

. He was also a student of

Andrés Bello Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López (; November 29, 1781 – October 15, 1865) was a Venezuelan Humanism, humanist, diplomat, poet, legislator, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute a ...

, from whom he received private lessons. In 1841, when he was about to finish his law 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.

, his father, Eugenio de Matta Vargas, decided that Manuel Antonio should travel to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, where he went when he was only eighteen years old. In the Old Continent he studied literature and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. During his stays in Germany, France and England he met important political intellectuals such as Francisco Bilbao and Santiago Arcos, who influenced his radical thoughts. He returned to

in 1848. That year he exercised his literary talents writing the '' Revista Santiago'', ''El Picaflor'' and ''La Revista''. The latter was discontinued in 1851 but returned to issue in 1855. He founded the Fire Brigade of Santiago (on December 20, 1863) and was the first director of the Company of Guardians of Property (now the 6th Company of Fire Brigades of Santiago). He died single and without descendants.

Political life

His political life developed in 1855 when he was elected

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

for his native Copiapó, and later re-elected in 1858. A year before his second election, Matta resigned from the Liberal Party of Chile, to found the new Radical Party. Of a group of young people of the same ideals, he was the leader along with his younger brother Guillermo Matta, Ángel Custodio Gallo, Pedro León Gallo, Francisco Marín and Juan Arteaga Alemparte. All of them formed the ''Constituent Assembly'' influenced by the French Revolution. Manuel Antonio was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

since he was forty years old and his dream was a secular government. It was not until

José Joaquín Pérez José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano (; 6 May 1801 – 1 July 1889) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as President of Chile from 1861 to 1871. Born in Santiago to an aristocratic family, Pérez studied humanities at the Rea ...

took office that the radicals managed to formalize the party. Matta founded the newspaper '' La Voz de Chile'' in 1862 and led this group with radical ideas awaiting the arrival of Pedro León Gallo in 1863. The first assembly of the radicals originated that year. In 1864 he was elected deputy for Copiapó and

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

where he was reelected for four consecutive terms. Later he was elected president of the Chamber of Deputies, and then

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

Atacama The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barren lower slopes ...

, a position in which he was also reelected. His good run with the government would end in 1880 when in the first Radical convention presided by him, the government of

Aníbal Pinto Aníbal Pinto Garmendia (; March 15, 1825June 9, 1884) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of former Chilean president General Francisc ...

was strongly criticized and catalogued as corrupt. However, he was again supported by the government of

Domingo Santa María Domingo Santa María González (; August 4, 1825 – July 18, 1889) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1881 and 1886. Early life He was born in Santiago, Chile, Santiago, the son of Luis José Santa Ma ...

. Matta strongly opposed the government of

José Manuel Balmaceda José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While h ...

, even supporting his resignation. After the fall of Balmaceda, Matta took refuge in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and upon his return he was offered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Worship and Colonization of Chile, a position he assumed and was partly responsible for the Baltimore Case. He was later elected senator for

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...

, a position he held at the time of his death, which took place in Santiago.

Legacy

His party would reach the highest office in the country in 1931 with

Juan Esteban Montero Juan Esteban Montero Rodríguez (February 12, 1879 – February 25, 1948) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as president of Chile between 1931 and 1932. He was overthrown in the 1932 military coup. Early life He was born in Sa ...

, and the radical governments formed by

Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. He was Political moderate, moderate. A me ...

, Juan Antonio Ríos and

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; 22 November 1898 – 22 August 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1930 ...

would also originate from. . In honor of his outstanding political work, one of the most important streets in

was named after him, Avenida Manuel Antonio Matta, popularly known as ''Alameda Manuel Antonio Matta'' . Also in

, for similar reasons, the famous Avenida Manuel Antonio Matta was built, known simply as ''Avenida Matta'' . Numerous streets in Chilean cities bear his name, referring to his legacy, as well as to the legacy of his no less prominent brother Guillermo Matta Goyenechea. {{DEFAULTSORT:Matta, Manuel 1826 births 1892 deaths People from Copiapó Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Members of the Senate of Chile Chilean male writers Foreign ministers of Chile