Presidential elections were held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on Friday, June 25, 1920. The Liberal Alliance candidate

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 ...

defeated the National Union candidate

Luis Barros Borgoño Luis Barros Borgoño (; March 26, 1858 – July 26, 1943) was a Chilean politician who served as Vice President of Chile in 1925. Born in Santiago, he was the son of Manuel Barros Arana and Eugenia Borgoño Vergara. He graduated as a lawyer in ...

in the last Chilean presidential election to have been decided by an electoral college. The results were a turning point for

Chilean history The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony between 1540 and 1818, when it gained independence from ...

, setting the end of the succession of oligarch and 19th-century governments and the start of a new, modern one run by the middle class. Incumbent president Juan Luis Sanfuentes was not able to run for a second term, as specified in the 1871 reform of the constitution. Arturo Alessandri and Eliodoro Yáñez, both Liberals, became the favourite candidates for the Liberal Alliance, formed by the half 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, the Radicals, the Democrats, the Doctrinals and others. Alessandri won the 1920 Liberal Alliance primary vote in the second round, defeating Yáñez, Enrique Mac Iver and Armado Quezada (both Radicals). The National Union, formed by the National,

Liberal Democratic Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into di ...

and Nationalist parties and the other half of the Liberals, was divided between those who wanted to come closer to the conservatives and those who did not.

Enrique Zañartu Enrique Zañartu (1921 - 2000) was a Chilean printmaker and educator. Biography Zañartu was born on 6 September 1921 in Paris, France, moving to Chile in 1938. He moved to New York City in 1944 where he was associated with the Atelier 17 print ...

and

Ismael Tocornal Ismael Tocornal y Tocornal, GCMG (April 5, 1850 - October 6, 1929) was a Chilean politician and diplomat, and the first Governor of the Central Bank of Chile. He was born in Santiago, the son of Manuel Antonio Tocornal y Grez and of Mercedes Ign ...

were the principal candidates. The first one won the 1920 National Union Convention with the support of the Conservative Party. The elections were held in a tense and violent political environment, where the social issues, the

Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

primacy over the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

were at stake. Both candidates proposed similar government plans, with the main difference being Alessandri's fervent campaign, which included passionate speeches from balconies, to rallies with the Chilean middle class. During his campaign, Alessandri spoke against the rule of the oligarchy and advocated for democratic and renovating reforms. On the contrary, Barros Borgoño presented himself as the candidate of tranquillity and seriousness, accusing his opponent of fomenting

class hatred Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...

. A third candidate,

Luis Emilio Recabarren Luis Emilio Recabarren Serrano (; July 6, 1876 – December 19, 1924) was a Chilean political figure. He was elected several times as deputy, and was the driving force behind the worker's movement in Chile. Early life Recabarren was born in ...

, from the Socialist Workers' Party, also run in the election, still knowing he had little chances of winning, but stating the election to be just an intern conflict between different branches of the oligarchy. The election results were almost a tie and were heavily disputed by both sides: the two candidates claimed victory. In the following months, political violence arouse in the country, with the population fearing a revolution. As a response to uncertainty and fraud accusations, a Tribunal of Honour was created to perform a detailed examination of the results. This solution was agreed upon by both parties. On September 30, the verdict was given, giving 177 electoral votes to Alessandri and 176 to Barros Borgoño. The first was declared the winner of the election, and the results modified by the Tribunal were accepted by the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in October.

Nominations

Liberal Alliance nomination

Liberal Alliance candidates: Arturo_Alessandri_Palma_(1925).jpg, Senator

from

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 ...

Enrique_Mac-Iver_Rodríguez_cropped.JPG, Senator
Enrique Mac Iver Rodríguez
from

Atacama The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the w ...

Eliodoro_Yañez_en_1915.JPG, Senator
Eliodoro Yáñez Ponce de León
from

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

Emilio_Bello.jpg, Deputy
Emilio Bello Codesido
from

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and Casablanca Armando Quezada.png, Senator
Armando Quezada Acharán
from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Artemio_Gutiérrez_Vidal.jpg, Deputy

from

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The city ...

, and

Llaima The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. It is situated 82 km East of Temuco and 663 km South of Santiago, within the borders of Conguillío National Park. Geography The top of Llaima consists of t ...

José María Valderrama Lira.jpg, Senator
José María Valderrama Lira
from Cautín

Nominations

Liberal Alliance nomination

National Union nomination

Socialist Workers' Party

Results

References