Juan Esteban Montero Rodríguez (February 12, 1879 – February 25, 1948) was a

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 ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served twice as

president of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...

between 1931 and 1932.

Early life

He was born in

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 ...

, the son of Benjamín Montero and of Eugenia Rodríguez. Juan Esteban Montero studied at the ''colegio de San Ignacio'' and at the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. He graduated as a lawyer on September 16, 1901, and soon after became professor of civil and Roman law at his ''alma mater''. He also worked as a government lawyer and in private practice. He married Graciela Fehrman Martínez, with whom he had four children: Juan Esteban, Pedro, Benjamín and Carmen.

Presidency

Montero's first incursion in politics was in 1931, when President

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. ...

named him Minister of the Interior and Social Welfare. After the resignation of president Ibáñez on July 26, 1931 he reluctantly agreed to serve in similar position to Ibáñez's successor, Pedro Opazo; just to find himself promoted to president the very next day, after Opazo's resignation. Montero, as a way out of the political impasse, immediately called for presidential elections. In the meanwhile he assumed as vice president. Very soon after, Montero accepted the presidential nomination of the Radical Party, and in order to qualify, he resigned his vicepresidency on August 20, 1931. The position was assumed by Manuel Trucco. The Trucco administration was only supposed to be a caretaker one, keeping order in the country until the presidential elections. Nonetheless it was faced with very difficult moments such as the Sailors' mutiny in the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, caused by the reduction of the salaries of the enlisted men (September 1–5, 1931), which was controlled only after an aerial bombing of the fleet and presaged difficult times ahead. Supported by the Liberals and

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

as well as the Radicals, Juan Esteban Montero was the clear winner of the presidential elections, obtaining almost 64% of the popular vote, defeating leftist José Santos Salas, a protégé of former President

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 ...

. He took over on November 15, in the midst of a political and economic chaos that resulted from the market crash of 1929. His program called for the implementation of an austerity program that involved the reduction of public expenditures and public salaries, a downsizing of the public administration and an increase of the foreign debt. Notwithstanding these harsh measures, the depreciation of the currency continued, and inflation soared while the Central Bank reserves were at an all-time low. This economic program only managed to cause widespread discontent, while in no way improving the economy, and in turn led to his downfall. On June 4, 1932, colonel Marmaduke Grove staged a coup d'état by taking over the

Air Force base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

of El Bosque, in Santiago, and demanding the resignation of President Montero. Montero refused to call on the army to put down the coup, and instead chose to resign. That same night, the victorious revolutionaries organized a Government Junta composed of retired General Arturo Puga, Eugenio Matte and Carlos Dávila, with colonel Grove as their minister of Defense. After this episode, Montero retired completely from politics, and went back to private practice and business. He died in Santiago, on February 25, 1948, at the age of 69.

External links

Complete biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montero, Juan Esteban 1879 births 1948 deaths Presidents of Chile Chilean Ministers of the Interior Chilean Ministers of Health Heads of state of Chile People from Santiago Radical Party of Chile politicians Candidates for President of Chile Chilean people of Spanish descent

Early life

Presidency

See also

External links