Juan Antonio Ríos Morales (; November 10, 1888 – June 27, 1946) 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 who served as president of Chile from 1942 to 1946, during the height of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He died in office.

Early life

Ríos was born at the ''Huichicura''

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

, near the town of Cañete, a coal-mining village in the

Arauco Province Arauco Province () is one of three provinces of the Chilean region of Bío Bío. It spans a coastal area of just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural regions, Zona Central and ...

of southern Chile. He was the youngest son of Anselmo Ríos, a rich landowner, and his third wife Lucinda Morales. His father (aged 69 to his young wife's 19 at marriage) died when he was very young so he and his three brothers were raised single-handedly by his mother. He completed his primary studies at the rural school of Cañete, and his secondary studies first at the ''Liceo'' of Lebu and later at the one in Concepción, and continued legal studies at the courses given at the annex of his school. Ríos became a lawyer in 1914 with an exposition on the creation and development of the police in Chile.

Political rise

A member of the conservative wing of the Radical Party since his high school days, he was elected local president of the youth branch of that party and later city councillor. During the presidential election of 1920 he campaigned for

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 ...

, being responsible for the southern part of the country. He was rewarded by Alessandri with the appointment of

Consul-general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

and

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. On October 21, 1921 he married Marta Ide, and they had three sons: Juan, Carlos, and Fernando. Ríos returned to Chile in 1924, to run in that year's congressional elections. He was elected as deputy for ''Arauco, Lebu and Cañete,'' and was reelected in 1926. After Alessandri's return to power following the Chilean coup of 1925, he participated of the committee charged with drafting a new constitution, that led to the approval and proclamation of the 1925 Chilean Constitution. In the meantime, Juan Antonio Ríos had become president and one of the principal leaders of the Radical Party. During the administration of colonel

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 ...

he was caught between his party's opposition to the government's dictatorial administration and his personal admiration for the government's results. As party president, he participated of the ''Thermal Congress'' (an unelected Congress convened by President Ibañez) as a

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 ''Arauco, Malleco, and Cautín''. After the fall of general Ibañez in 1931, Ríos was expelled from his party for his cooperation with the former dictatorship. The year 1932 was a very turbulent time politically for Ríos. First, he supported the Chilean coup of 1932, a successful coup that toppled President Juan Esteban Montero, and resulted in the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Chile. Then he went on to become the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

when Carlos Dávila took over as head of state. In turn, after the resignation of Dávila three months later, general Bartolome Blanche became president, and Ríos became his

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Nonetheless, with the election of

in the presidential election of 1932 and the return to institutional normality, he was politically shunned. Ríos ran as an independent in the congressional election of 1933 and was elected as deputy for ''Arauco and Cañete.'' That was the beginning of his political comeback. In 1935 he was welcomed back into the Radical fold. In 1937, the Radical Party, the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, the Communist Party, the Democratic Party, and the Radical Socialist Party, as well as organizations such as the Confederación de Trabajadores de Chile (CTCH) trade union, the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

movement which unified itself in the Frente Único Araucano, and the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Movimiento Pro-Emancipación de las Mujeres de Chile (MEMCh) allied themselves in the Popular Front (), with Ríos becoming its first president. Nonetheless, Ríos was defeated in the internal presidential primaries 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 ...

, who got the nomination and then went on to win the presidential election of 1938. During the Aguirre Cerda administration, Ríos was president of Chile's largest bank, the state-owned ''Caja de Credito Hipotecario'', which made mortgage loans to Chilean farmers. He also sought to increase his political influence inside his party. His main political rival was

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 ...

, but soon he managed to have him named

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to France, leaving him free to pursue his own political advancement. At the time it was rumored that President Aguirre Cerda had also offered him an ambassadorial position, but that he had answered: ''... tell the President that I thank him for his offer, but I am moving up, not down''.

1942 presidential campaign

In 1941, due to his rapidly escalating illness, President Aguirre Cerda appointed his minister of the Interior, Jerónimo Méndez as vice-president and died soon after, on November 25, 1941. A presidential election was called for February 1, 1942. This was the opportunity Ríos had been waiting for and he immediately started to campaign. Nevertheless, two days before the internal primaries, Gabriel González Videla returned to Chile to oppose him for the nomination. The results were too close to call, so a ''tribunal of honor'' (electoral commission) was constituted, and Juan Antonio Ríos was finally proclaimed the candidate of the left-wings' coalition. This Democratic Alliance () was formed by the Radical Party, the

, the Communist Party, the Democratic Party, and the Workers' Socialist Party. The left-wings' coalition was united against a common opponent, General

. Ríos was a member of the conservative wing of the Radical Party and defeated Ibáñez in the 1942 election, portraying himself as a conservative anti-fascist candidate. Ibáñez had the support of Chile's Conservative party,

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 ...

, National Socialist party, Popular Socialist Vanguard and the majority of the independents. Ríos obtained 55.95% of the votes and took office on April 2, 1942.

Presidency

Ríos' presidency was marked from the very beginning by parliamentary instability, caused by rivalries between the different political tendencies in his cabinet, and the renewed and increased influence of Congress. The Chilean Communist Party opposed Ríos because he had initially chosen neutrality in

and had refused to break off diplomatic relations with the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

, while the right-wing accused him of complacency with the left. Economically, he faced labor unrest at home, brought about in large part by a drop in

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

prices worldwide, while at the same time, the Chilean Socialist Party accused him of being too soft with big business and of failing to enact labour legislation protecting workers' rights.

Domestic affairs

Even though Ríos had been elected with the support of the Communist party, he refused the direct participation of this party in the government, thus earning their opposition. Ríos' option instead was to appoint "technical experts" and "personal friends" to cabinet and high-level government positions; this policy allowed him to include not only members of his own party, but also from the Conservative and Liberal opposition. In 1943, Congress approved and Ríos signed the first constitutional reform to the 1925 constitution. This reform gave constitutional rank to the Comptroller General () and limited the power of the President with respect to public expenditures without congressional approval. In 1944, the Radical Party itself presented to Ríos a serie of propositions which he deemed unacceptable. Those included breaking-off diplomatic relations with

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

— diplomatic and especially economic pressure had caused him to finally break off relations with the

in January 1943 — the recognition of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and a cabinet exclusively composed of Radicals. His refusal to implement the Radical Party's propositions, and the violent repression of riots that took place on Plaza Bulnes in Santiago, leading to several deaths, caused the resignation of all the Radical ministers, leaving the President without a party. These internal divisions partly explain the right-wing parties success' during the 1945 legislative elections, which were a debacle for the Socialists and the Communists. The Radicals themselves lost a number of seats. After his return from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and faced with failing health, he transferred his presidential powers to his minister of the Interior Alfredo Duhalde (January 17, 1946) and died of cancer roughly 6 months later, on June 27.

Economic development

Ríos' administration — continuing the Aguirre Cerda policies — focused on the development of the steel, power and oil industries. To that effect, funds were channeled via the ''Production Development Corporation'' (), created under the previous administration. Thus on January 17 of 1944, it was created the ''National Electricity Company'' (); on June 19 of 1950 the National Oil Company (); and in 1942, the Pacific Steel Company (), which opened the ''Huachipato'' steelworks next to the port of

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. ...

Foreign relations

Up to 1943, Chile and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

had declined to sever relations with the Axis powers, and the Chilean election was viewed by many as critical during World War II.''Current Biography 1942'', pp. 691-93 A bitter disagreement sprung up between the president and its supporting Democratic Alliance. Initially, Ríos' government was committed to neutrality during the war, but the left-wing parties of his coalition were in favor of an immediate and total rupture with the Axis as well as for the recognition of the

, which they saw as their contribution to the world-struggle against fascism. Diplomatic and especially economic pressure from the

finally caused him to break off relations with the

on January 20, 1943; however, he only declared war on Germany and Italy, and while beginning to imprison Japanese nationals did not declare war on Japan until 1945. By doing so, he made Chile eligible for the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

program, and obtained the necessary loans to help along the economic recovery, and in 1945, Chile belonged to the victorious nations and had thus gained the right to participate in the postwar international conferences.

Death

President Ríos returned from his

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

and reassumed power on December 3, 1945; but by then he was already terminally ill with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. He transferred his presidential powers on January 17, 1946, to his Minister of the Interior, Alfredo Duhalde, who took over as vice-president. Juan Antonio Ríos spent his last days at ''Villa Paidahue'', in La Reina, where he died on June 27, 1946, before the end of his constitutional period.

References

* Valencia Avaria, Luis. 1986. ''Anales de la República: textos constitucionales de Chile y registro de los ciudadanos que han integrado los poderes ejecutivo y legislativo desde 1810''. 2ª edición Santiago de Chile. Editorial Andrés Bello.

External links

Biographies of famous Chilean Freemasons
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Juan Antonio 1888 births 1946 deaths People from Arauco Province Chilean people of Spanish descent Radical Party of Chile politicians Presidents of Chile Ministers of the interior of Chile Ministers of justice of Chile Deputies of the XXXIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXXV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXXVII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Members of the Senate of Chile Diplomats for Chile World War II political leaders Candidates for President of Chile Chilean Freemasons University of Concepción alumni Articles containing video clips 20th-century Chilean lawyers