Jose joaquin perez
José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano (Santiago, May 6, 1801-ibid., June 1, 1889) was a Chilean lawyer and politician who became President of the Republic between 1861 and 1871. His candidacy for president arose as a result of Antonio Varas's refusal to succeed then-president Manuel Montt. He had previously been a parliamentarian for the former province of Santiago, Curicó, Puchacay and Itata.
Born in Santiago in May 1801, he was the son of an aristocratic family. After completing his studies, he began early in diplomacy.He was appointed secretary of the Chilean legation in Washington D.C. in 1826 and charge d'affaires in France in 1829. The following year, he went to Buenos Aires as a diplomatic representative.
During the conservative government of Manuel Montt, despite the fact that he held the positions of senator and state councilor, he stayed away from political conflicts, which made his candidacy possible. On September 18, 1861, he took office as president of Chili. At the age of 60, he was supported by the Nationalists and by the Liberal-Conservative Fusion, ruling since 1862 with the latter conglomerate, beginning a period of liberal predominance. At the beginning of his government and as his currency pointed out, the first action relevant was promoting an "Amnesty Law" for the period 1851-1861, which was quickly approved. In accordance with the spirit of tolerance, there was considerable freedom of the press during his government, which allowed the publication of satires about him and criticism of the government. Along these same lines, his contemporaries recall various anecdotes that show Pérez in a different and sympathetic facet, which was appreciated by the public, generating a popular myth about it.
When he was president, he had to face various events and reforms relevant to the country's history, as reflected in his annual speeches. The occupation of Araucanía was one of his first actions, a process that continued in the following governments, but that during his mandate offered the particularity of beginning with the proclamation of the King of Araucanía. In 1863, as president, he led the inauguration ceremony of the Valparaíso-Santiago railway and had to face the burning of the church of the Company of Jesus, an event that saddened throughout the country. However, the War against Spain (1865-1866) was the most tragic and criticized episode of his government. Despite the war, in these years relevant measures were carried out: the Code of Commerce was promulgated and the new Customs Law. In turn, article 5 of the Constitution regarding the country's religion was reinterpreted, promulgating the Law on Freedom of Cults (1865). He conducted a nationwide census that yielded a total of 1,819,223 inhabitants. In 1866, a border treaty was established with Bolivia that momentarily ended the friction between the two countries.
On September 18, 1866, he was re-elected for a second five-year term. The most serious problem he faced during these years were the meager fiscal coffers, due to the debts caused by the war, which forced him to request a loan. The purchase of ships and weapons, as well as the fortification of Valparaíso, were estimated as a necessity to protect the country against possible attacks. Some reforms to the Constitution of 1833 were discussed, but only one was approved in August 1871, when Federico Errazuriz Zañartu was already president-elect: the non-reelection of the President of the Republic. After handing over power to the new president, he continued to hold important political positions. He died in 1889, at the ripe age of 89.
Biography
Family and youth
He was born in Santiago on May 6, 1801. He was the son of Santiago Pérez Salas, former congressman, and María de la Luz Mascayano y Larraín. He was the grandson of José Antonio Pérez García, a Spanish soldier, chronicler and historian.
She married Tránsito Flórez y de la Cavareda on April 9, 1840, with whom she had eleven children, only five of whom reached adulthood.
Studies and working life
He completed his studies in the humanities at the Real Colegio Carolino, at the Instituto Nacional and completed his education at the Real Universidad de San Felipe, where he graduated as a lawyer.
Political career
He was a member of the National or Monttvarista Party.
He started in diplomacy when he was young and served in the Secretariat of the Legation in the United States; in 1829 he went to France as chargé d'affaires. During the government of José Joaquín Prieto Vial, he was entrusted with contracting a loan in London. In 1830 he was sent on a mission to Buenos Aires, where he stayed for several years.
Upon his return, in 1844, he was appointed deputy finance minister(s), a position he held from September 12, 1844 to April 17, 1845, the date on which he assumed as interim in the same ministry, until on September 22, 1846. Then he was appointed Minister of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, holding office as such between June 12, 1849 and April 19, 1850; ownership that he held during the government of Manuel Bulnes.
During the administration of President Manuel Montt, he was elected senator and state councilor.
Parliamentarian
Deputy
He was deputy owner for the province of Aconcagua, in the National Constituent Congress of 1826 between July 4, 1826 and June 22, 1827. He joined Session 196 to replace Martín Prats Urízar, who resigned in Session 180 after having been elected Mayor of Aconcagua.
Seven years later, in 1837, he was elected substitute deputy for Santiago, for the period 1834-1837. He was called to replace the owner deputy for that province, Manuel Barros Andonaegui , who died a few days after the opening of the term. He did not join until June 6, 1836.
In that same year, he was elected substitute deputy for Itata, for the period 1837-1840. Inexplicably, he was elected vice president of the Chamber of Deputies on June 14, serving until August 16, 1839, a few days before being called to replace Pedro García de la Huerta, who was the deputy owner. (headline) by Itata.
He ran for the parliamentary elections of 1840, where he was elected deputy owner for Puchacay, for the period 1840-1843. He was Vice President of the House, from December 1, 1840 to July 5, 1841; and president, from August 5 to October 5, 1842. He was a member of the Permanent Commission of Government and Foreign Relations.
In 1844, he was re-elected deputy owner, this time for Curicó, for the period 1843-1846. He continued to be a member of the Permanent Commission on Government and Foreign Relations.
He was again elected deputy owner, this time by Santiago, for the period 1846-1849. In this period he served as Vice President of the House from August 4, 1848 to June 4, 1849.
Re-elected owner deputy for Santiago, for the period 1849-1852. He vice-presided the Chamber for the second consecutive time, between August 5, 1850 and June 2, 1851. He was a member of the Permanent Commission of Finance and Industry.
Senator
In the 1852 elections, he was elected senator of the Republic, for the period 1852-1861. He was a member of the Permanent Commission of Finance and Arts and the Government and Foreign Relations; he was Vice President of the Senate from June 6, 1855 to August 5, 1857, he held the same position, between October 5, 1857 and July 2, 1858. In addition, he was a member of the Conservative Commission for the recess 1852-1853; 1853-1854; 1854-1855; 1855-1856; 1856-1857; 1857-1858; 1859-1860 and 1860-1861.
Re-elected proprietary senator, for the period 1873-1882, being president of the Senate from June 2, 1873 to June 2, 1875. He was a member of the Conservative Commission for the recess 1873-1874; 1874-1875 and 1875-1876. The period ended in 1876, by virtue of the provisions of Transitory Article 1 of the Constitutional Reform of October 24, 1874.
Presidency
His distance from political conflicts during the government of Manuel Montt Torres allowed him to be the "unity" in the 1861 elections, where he was elected.
Fire at the Church of the Society of Jesus
A fact would divert public opinion from political facts. On Tuesday, December 8, 1863, the church of the Society of Jesus was full of parishioners: More than two thousand members of the "Daughters of Mary" and a crowd gathered at the doors to celebrate the end of the month of Mary. At five in the afternoon people began to enter and with it, the sacristans to light the more than seven thousand candles for the ceremony, which would begin two hours later. The inflammation of various paper and cloth decorations in the temple caused a huge fire. The terrified crowd fled, but when the people came out they met those who had not managed to enter and who wanted to enter (they still ignored the fire), and they crushed each other creating real human walls that prevented an expedited exit. About two thousand people died, mostly women and children.
As a consequence of this, Santiago society wanted to have a permanent fire brigade. The project materialized on December 20, 1863, drawing up the founding act where it was agreed to organize the body into four volunteer fire companies, the one from the south, the one from the east, the one from the west and a company of property guards.
War against Spain
The War against Spain began because of a diplomatic conflict between this country and Peru. At the same time that a Spanish squadron on a scientific and diplomatic mission was traveling along the American coasts, the so-called Talambo incident occurred in which a group of Spaniards and Peruvians clashed, resulting in several injuries. and one death of each nationality. The squadron protested these events and awaited instructions from Spain. Eusebio Salazar y Mazarredo arrived from Madrid with the position of Minister of His Majesty in Bolivia and Extraordinary Commissioner for Peru and requested an interview with a member of the government. Although it was accepted, he was told that it would be confidential because the position of Commissioner was not recognized. Salazar refused to meet under these conditions and went to meet Luis Hernández-Pinzón Álvarez, general commander of the Spanish squadron. Contrary to the main orders he had been given in Spain, Salazar convinced the Spanish admiral that it was necessary to use force. Thus, the squadron occupied the Chincha islands (producers of guano, the country's main source of income).
Chile, with an Americanist feeling, protested energetically and in several cities demonstrations were held against Spain (in Santiago, the people violently insulted the Spanish legation). For its part, the government declared the coal that supplied the invading squadron to be contraband.
The Spanish fleet appeared in Valparaíso on September 17, 1865 and its new commanding general, Admiral José Manuel Pareja demanded an explanation of the attitude assumed by Chile, presenting an ultimatum that forced them to salute the Spanish flag with 21 cannon shots Chile refused and declared war on Spain on September 25. Admiral Pareja decides to block the Chilean coast, for which he had to disperse his ships. This situation made it possible for the Chilean corvette Esmeralda, commanded by Williams Rebolledo, to capture the Spanish schooner Covadonga by surprise in the combat of Papudo (November 26). Upon hearing this news, Pareja commits suicide and Casto Méndez Núñez, who made two expeditions with his squadron to Chiloé to destroy the Chilean-Peruvian ships, but achieved nothing.
Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia signed a defensive and offensive alliance, in such a way that the Spanish fleet had nowhere to supply itself, from Guayaquil to Cape Horn. Faced with such a scenario and unable to reach the combined Chilean-Peruvian fleet, which was hiding in Chiloé, Méndez Núñez decided to bombard the ports of Valparaíso and El Callao. The first one caused serious damage and meant a lot of cost for the repair, while the second one, with a much better defended place, meant serious breakdowns for the Spanish ships, which undertook the way back to Spain, leaving damage to this port.
This conflict forced countries to invest resources to improve external defense, the Chilean government acquired war supplies that allowed renewing the army's materiel and two new ships that, together with the Esmeralda and Covadonga formed four combat units.
Occupation of Araucanía
At the beginning of the Pérez government, the adventure of Orélie Antoine de Tounens "King of Araucanía" took place. In December 1861, he had himself appointed by a large group of Arauco caciques, "King of Araucanía and Patagonia", adopting the name of Orelie Antoine I. Beginning in 1862, he was taken prisoner by the Chilean authorities and sent to Los Angeles, later being declared insane; however, the charge d'affaires of France sent him back to his country.
During his defense before the Chilean courts, the claimant gave powerful legal arguments to prove that Araucanía was not a Chilean possession. His allegation was so impressive that Pérez decided to proceed with the "Pacification of Araucanía", which would be based on the plan presented by Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez to President Manuel Montt. His points were:
- Transfer the border line to the Malleco River, to protect with the line of strong settlers.
- A plan for the sale of state land between the rivers Biobío and Malleco, in order to raise the density of non-indigenous population in the area.
- Discrimination in the occupation of soils, in order to colonize those of better quality and easy defense.
This plan was approved by Montt, but it was interrupted when the merger reached the government due to Saavedra's supposed unconditional support for Montt, but the events of the king of Araucanía forced them to trust the pacification plan. However, despite the advances in the invasion that it gave, it was interrupted on numerous occasions for political reasons. The break that Saavedra and Errázuriz Zañartu would have at the end of the decade would postpone the occupation of Araucanía until the governments of Aníbal Pinto Garmendia and Domingo Santa María
Second period for Pérez
José Joaquín Pérez began his second term on September 18, 1866, after being elected by 191 voters against 15 for Manuel Bulnes and 11 for Pedro León Gallo.
During the second phase of his term, in the political field he was marked by the entry of the liberal Federico Errázuriz Zañartu (the other ace of Chilean politics, along with his rival Santa María) to the ministry, in the portfolio of Marina and War. He would dedicate all his energy to setting up the electoral machinery that would ensure his election as President of the Republic. He also tried to control the Supreme Court, at the time chaired by Manuel Montt, but his attempt failed. In this context, in 1868, a constitutional accusation was presented against the president and the ministers of the Supreme Court, which was finally rejected by the Senate.
The opposition, made up of nationals, radicals, and reformist liberals, created the Reform Club, a very important political organization that would fight to see the constitutional reforms they deemed convenient for the development of the nation carried out.
At the end of the Pérez government, it was possible to approve a reform to the 1833 Constitution which prohibited the immediate re-election of presidents, having to mediate a period to reapply for office.
Ministers of State
.svg){kind=small} of the Government of José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ministry | Owner | Period |
| Ministry of the Interior and Foreign Affairs | Manuel Mayor Velasco Manuel Antonio Tocornal and Grez Álvaro Covarrubias Ortúzar Francisco Vargas Fontecilla Miguel Luis Amunátegui Aldunate Belisario Prats | 1861 - 1862 1862 - 1864 1864 - 1867 1867 - 1868 1868 - 1870 1870 - 1871 |
| Ministry of War and Marina | Manuel García Banqueda Maturana Marcos José Manuel Pinto Arias Federico Errázuriz Zañartu Francisco Echaurren Huidobro José Ramón Lira | 1861 - 1862 1862 - 1865 1865 - 1866 1866 - 1868 1868 - 1870 1870 - 1871 |
| Ministry of Finance | Manuel Rengifo Vial José Victorino Lastarria Sunday Santa Maria Alejandro Reyes Melchor Concha and Toro José Antonio Gandarillas | 1861 - 1862 1862 - 1863 1863 - 1864 1864 - 1869 1869 - 1870 1870 - 1871 |
| Ministry of Justice, Cult and Public Instruction | Just Donoso Vivanco Miguel Matías Güemes Federico Errázuriz Zañartu Joaquín Blest Win Francisco Vargas Fontecilla Eulogio Altamirano Aracena | 1861 - 1862 1862 - 1864 1864 - 1866 1866 - 1870 1870 1870 - 1871 |
End of government
The fusionist convention appointed Federico Errázuriz Zañartu as candidate for the presidency, who during his tenure at the ministry left his election arranged, but his contender José Tomás de Urmeneta put up a hard battle, sometimes surpassing government intervention. The end result was:
- By Federico Errázuriz: 226 votes
- By José Tomás de Urmeneta: 58 votes
- By Alvaro Covarrubias: 1 vote