Government Junta of Chile (September 11, 1924 - January 23, 1925), (also known as the ''September Junta'') was the political structure established to rule

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 ...

following the anti-conservative

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

that assumed power after first interfering in progressive President

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 ...

's deadlocked government. It ruled the country until it was ousted by yet another military coup, and gave way to the January Junta.

Creation

During most of 1924, Chile had been politically paralyzed by a conflict between the President and the conservatively controlled congress, who refused to discuss the laws that he sent them. On September 3, 1924 a group of 56 military officers protested for their low salaries, in the incident known as the ''rattling of the sabres''. The next day the same group of young military officers, led by Colonel

Marmaduke Grove Marmaduke Grove Vallejo (; July 6, 1878 – May 15, 1954), his name erroneously spelled Marmaduque Grobeh, was a Chilean Air Force officer, political figure and member of the Government Junta of the Socialist Republic of Chile in 1932. Early lif ...

and Major

Carlos Ibáñez Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

, created a "military committee" to defend themselves from threatened sanctions by the government in response to their actions. On September 5, the "military committee" demanded of President

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 budget and salaries. Alessandri had no option but to appoint General

Luis Altamirano Luis Altamirano Talavera (July 5, 1867 – July 25, 1938) was a Chilean military officer, minister, Vice President of the Republic and finally president of the Government Junta of Chile between 1924 and 1925. He was born in Concepción on th ...

, the Army Inspector General (Chief of the Army), 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 dared not to protest, and the laws that had been languishing for years were passed in a matter of hours. These included the

8 hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...

, suppression of

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

, regulation of

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

, legislation on

occupational safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

, legalization of

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, a law on

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

s and the creation of courts of conciliation and labour arbitrage. 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-months constitutional leave of absence. He left the country immediately for Italy. General Altamirano assumed power as Vice President and on September 11 a military Junta was established to rule the country in the absence of the titular president, Alessandri. The military movement was not homogeneous, and included an anti- oligarchist wing headed by Marmaduque Grove and Carlos Ibáñez. They expressed their positions in the September 11

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

, which theorized a kind of "

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...

" of the Armed Forces to support the country's development. The manifesto stigmatized the "corruption of the political life," justifying the coup by an alleged institutional crisis. It also alleged imminent "civil unrest" (''contienda civil'') from which the country had to be protected.

History

The Junta was composed of General Altamirano, who was chief of the Army and constitutional Vice President; Admiral Nef, who was chief of the Navy; and General Bennett, who became the representative of the "military committee". General Altamirano proceeded to close Congress and, declaring the

state of siege A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

, assumed dictatorial powers. During his conservative rule, he tried several measures to control the economic crisis and to reform the local bureaucracy. Nonetheless, from the very beginning the Junta proved ineffective in implementing any real changes to the political ''status quo''. The "military committee" started to suspect that a Conservative restoration was under way. The fears seemed confirmed when

Ladislao Errázuriz Ladislao is a given name, a Hispanic variant of Vladislav. Notable people with the name include: * Ladislao Cabrera, Bolivian hero during the War of the Pacific * Ladislao Diwa, Filipino patriot * Ladislao Martínez, Puerto Rico musician * Lászl ...

, head of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and of the '' Unión Nacional'' alliance, suddenly presented his candidacy to the upcoming presidential elections. At that point, the Junta lost the confidence of those who had elevated them to power, chiefly among them the ''military committee''. Young military officers began to contact sectors working in favour of

's return, in particular the Comité Obrero Nacional (National Workers' Committee). On January 23, 1925, army troops surrounded the

La Moneda Palace Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secreta ...

and arrested General Altamirano. Following this new coup d'état, the power was handed to General Pedro Pablo Dartnell, who in turn gave way to the January Junta a few days later. The new junta declared that the leaders of the previous junta had "perverted" the intent of the September 11 Manifesto, qualifying them as "traitors" and stating that "oligarchs erenot the owners of Chile." One of the first act of the new junta was to arrest Errázuriz, while the popular classes supported the new junta at the condition of Alessandri's return to power Luis Vitale, 2000, p.38

Members

References

Sources

Intervenciones militares y poder factico en la politica chilena (de 1830 al 2000)
Luis Vitale, 2000

External links

Historical Analysis of the Military Coups in Chile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Junta Of Chile (1924) Government of Chile History of Chile 1924 in Chile Military dictatorships