Jose Tomas Ovalle

José Tomás Ovalle y Bezanilla (Santiago, December 21, 1787 - March 21, 1831) was a lawyer, politician, and Provisional President of Chile who ruled the country from 1829 to 1830 and from 1830 to 1831, he was the first person to hold the title of President of the Republic to die in office.

Biography

He was born in Santiago de Chile while it belonged to the Spanish Empire on December 21, 1787, on the day of his birth he was baptized by the Catholic Church in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, son of Vicente María de Ovalle Guzmán and María del Rosario Bezanilla and Noriega, coming from an important family of the time. He was the father of minister Francisco Javier Ovalle Bezanilla and deputies Rafael Ovalle Bezanilla and Joaquín Ovalle Bezanilla.

He studied at the Convictorio Carolino and obtained his doctorate in Law at the Royal University of San Felipe in 1809. Belonging to the patriot side, in addition to being a lawyer, Ovalle was dedicated to agriculture and managing his farms.

On April 1, 1812, he married his aunt Rafaela Bezanilla Bezanilla, his mother's half-sister, with whom he had eleven children.

From a young age, Ovalle played important political roles in the tumultuous early years of the Republic. He was substitute deputy in 1823, and returned to the lower house between 1824 and 1825. He replaced in the Senate in 1824, was Vice President of the Provincial Assembly of Santiago and Vice President of the Congress of Plenipotentiaries.

His closeness to congress brought him early to the disputed executive power of the time, belonging to the pelucón side at the outbreak of the civil war of 1829-1830 Ovalle managed to climb in congress until he reached the presidency of a reconciliation board that chaired the country, on December 24, 1829 beginning his first term.

President of the Governing Board (1829-1830)

Following the agreement during the civil war of 1829-1830 called the Pact of Ochagavía, a provisional government Board was appointed to put an end to the Acephaly of the Executive, chaired by José Tomás Ovalle and made up of Isidoro Errázuriz and Pedro Trujillo Zañartu, However, Trujillo resigned a few days after the board was formed, which made it falter. José María Guzmán took over as his replacement. The junta assumes office on December 24, 1829, however the action of the armies took it to the background, leaving it without notorious authority. Among the works of the junta, there is the formation of a Congress of Plenipotentiaries that carried out the Reform of the Electoral Law. and The appointment of a provisional Executive Branch to replace the Provisional Governing Board to put Freire in power, however Ovalle allowed himself to be carried away by his militancy and managed to have his replacement also be the wiggly Francisco Ruiz-Tagle of whom he would be Vice President, this caused great hostilities.

Governing Board

Vice Presidency

On February 17, the Congress elects Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Portales in a kind of directorial election with the Position of Provisional President of the Republic, and Ovalle as Vice President (if Ruiz-Tagle became unable, Ovalle would receive the position with the name of Provisional President of the Republic), Ovalle leaves the position of President and assumes as Vice President on February 18, 1830.

Ruiz-Tagle, however, has internal conflicts with General José Joaquín Prieto, and the pelucón side begins to ask for Ruiz-Tagle's resignation and for Ovalle to preside over the country, since he was more docile to the pelucones' requests. The President's cousin, Diego Portales, is in charge of convincing him to resign, finally, he also gives in due to health problems.

Finally, Ovalle remains as President.

Government (1830-1831)

Diego Portales, Universal Minister of President Ovalle, with the important collaboration of President Ovalle, managed to establish a stable and more durable government than the previous ones, this served as a scalpel for the Conservative Republic (Chile).

José Tomás Ovalle was the third person with the office of President to be totally civil.

Plaza de Armas of the city of Ovalle, founded in commemoration of the month of the death of José Tomás Ovalle, the main work of his administration.

Fernando Errázuriz Aldunate, successor and vice president of Ovalle.

On April 1, 1830, José Tomás Ovalle assumed the Presidency of Chile. This, the first absolutely wiggly government, was advised by Mariano Egaña in the Ministry of the Interior and Foreign Relations, Bartolomé Mujica in the Ministry of War and Navy and the priest Juan Francisco Meneses in the Ministry of Finance.

The young Ovalle did not have the desire for power that the politicians of the time had, he enjoyed agriculture and parliament, however he assumed the head of state more as a duty and an obligation and whose only goal was to restore the ravaged country.

Artifice of different decrees, Ovalle removed the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army, Ramón Freire, from his position and replaced him with the long-haired general José Joaquín Prieto, this decree violated the Ochagavía Pact and caused the pipiolos to be the opponents more iron to Ovalle during his tenure.

The ministers Egaña and Mujica did not want to exercise their positions and wanted to remain resigning, for this reason, on April 6, 1830, he appointed his friend Diego Portales Minister of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, War and Navy, preponderant figure and main leader of the conservative period.

On April 17 of that year, the pelucones (Ovalle's side) and the pipiolos, faced each other in the Battle of Lircay, this war event would consolidate Ovalle's permanence in power and trigger the permanence of the conservatives in the government until 1861, the triumph of the pelucones made Ovalle issue the decree of April 17, discharging 136 revolutionary soldiers, most of them veterans of the War of Independence, the government considered that although the measure seemed ungrateful to the patriots, it was necessary to form the State that Ovalle wanted.

In addition, the liberal leaders and those who refused to recognize the government of José Tomás Ovalle were exiled and sent mostly to Lima, among these leaders were the former rulers, Francisco Antonio Pinto, Francisco de la Lastra and the editor of the Constitution José Joaquín de Mora.

On April 22, the defeated pipiolos commanded by Benjamín Viel begin to regroup and take over the city of Melipilla, upon learning of this Ovalle and Portales send a government force to subdue them, the armies do not meet, and in this chaotic possible In the aftermath of the war, the government receives extraordinary powers from Congress and agrees to purge the army and political factions. Finally, on May 17, the parties met and drew up the Treaty of Cuz-Cuz, the treaty that officially ended the war. It was rejected by the Ministry of War and Navy and the Ovalle government did not recognize it.

After this situation, Ovalle issued various decrees that restored the national institutionality, centralizing the country and depending everything on the capital, Santiago, in addition to continuing with the purge and reorganization of foundations headed by Portales.

On June 14, the government ratified the decree that harshly controlled the hostile printing press of the time, it said that if a public official was attacked by the press, they should immediately notify the government, otherwise they would be dismissed from their duties. functions, censorship was imminent, the Pipiolo newspapers were closed and the government inaugurated its spokesperson newspaper, the Araucano.

The Ovalle government, interested in economic consolidation, handed over the tobacconists to Diego Portales and Chile became the fourth largest copper producer in the world. Manuel Rengifo, architect of austere measures, tax and customs reform, was in charge of Ministry of Finance of Chile and its policy began to bear fruit in the short term, in December 1830.

The country reorganized by the duo of Ovalle and Portales, led a health program that ordered the vaccination of the inhabitants and the army, this program prevented an epidemic of smallpox, which threatened the country, the army with now better conditions began to slowly regain the confidence of the President.

During his government, on August 20, part of numerous decrees, the decree that regularizes public finances and limits the payment of public finances only to the Ministry of Finance of Chile was made official. This control of finances would result in resulted in a surplus in 1831.

In September, the famous naturalist Claudio Gay was called to promote research on Chile, commissioned to carry out an in-depth study of the physical and geographical history of Chile. For this, the naturalist had to make a three-year trip, the work of this study, Ovalle could not see finished.

That same month, the government's relations with the Catholic Church, considered a true ally by the conservative ideal, would be made official, and the return of all its assets, confiscated in previous governments, was granted. This decree would bring the Church closer to the state until 1856.

Between October and November, Minister Diego Portales reorganizes the Civic Guard and the army is counted. During those months, Ovalle is concerned with restoring moral order in the country and attempts at coups begin to appease.

Under Ovalle's government, the councils recovered their status as voice of the people and presented a petition for constitutional reform to the government. Ovalle accepted the repeal of the liberal Constitution of 1828, although Portales did not He agreed with the creation of a new one, in February Ovalle called for the creation of a Great Convention that should be organized and meet in October 1831; This was finally called by his successor, Joaquín Prieto.

Restored order, the government began to bear its first fruits of prosperity, for this reason Ovalle began to create an institutional reorganization. The already purged army gave way to the inauguration of the Civic Battalion in March.

As a result of the institutional reforms, the project for the creation of a new city in the Province of Coquimbo is presented to Ovalle, Ovalle accepts and the government finances the project, this would undoubtedly be the magnum opus of the Ovalle administration.

Ministers of State

State ministries of the Acting Government of José Tomás Ovalle Bezanilla
Ministry	Owner	Period
Ministry of the Interior and Foreign Affairs	Mariano Egaña Diego Portales	1830 1830 - 1831
Ministry of War and Marina	Bartolomé Mujica Diego Portales José María de la Cruz Bartolomé Mujica (War only) José Manuel Calderón (Marina only) Diego Portales	1830 1830 1830 - 1831 1831 1831 1831
Ministry of Finance	Juan Francisco Meneses José Raymundo Del Rio Manuel Rengifo	1830 1830 1830 - 1831

Death

Since March 5, Ovalle began to feel the symptoms of a serious illness, accelerated by the stress caused by governing, that day he presented his resignation before the astonished gaze of Congress and it was accepted on March 8, this it was his first successful resignation, as Ovalle had always dreamed of resigning.

Power rests with José Joaquín Prieto, but this disabled man relinquishes his position and is accidentally assumed by the Provisional Vice President and undisputed leader of the congress Fernando Errázuriz Aldunate.

Ovalle's illness, which has not yet been clarified, promptly caused him to die on March 21, 1831 at nine in the morning, at the age of forty-three.

Ovalle's death caused real instability, Errázuriz, a follower of his line of government, failed to follow Ovalle's formula and did not appear so docile when it came to following the Portalitan advice, for which the minister resigned. On April 21, 1831, the city of Ovalle was inaugurated, in honor of the late President, in whose mandate construction began.

Vice President Errázuriz called for elections and took office on September 18, José Joaquín Prieto, under this government all the works of Ovalle and his dream of State would be completed, which was: Promote the existence of a firm and vigorous regime, which would not fall into excesses of rigor.

After the official stage of the conservative republic had already begun, Ovalle gained the popularity of the party's successors and his figure was stamped in the following words:

Ovalle has been qualified as a man of good judgment, honesty and a deep sense of justice.

Icarito, Biography of José Tomás Ovalle.

Theories about his death

Although the official version of his death was from tuberculosis, some historians have claimed that his early death was due to a liver attack. Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna said that this alleged liver attack was caused by some verses written by José Joaquín de Mora, who was a political rival of Ovalle and his cabinet, entitled The One and the Other that irritated strongly to Ovalle.

In 2005, after a restoration to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, his remains were found along with those of Diego Portales. These were there because in 1845, his corpse had been transferred from the General Cemetery of Santiago, to the cathedral.

THE ONE AND THE OTHER

One got into power.

with intrigue and evil;

The other without knowing how,

They sat him where he is.

The one cubiletea

and the other signature no more;

One is called Diego,

and the other Joseph Thomas.

One makes the cakes

with its pepper and salt;

the other up in the rebuznos

It has a certain gravity.

One is a barbilampiño,

but the other is mustapha;

One is called Diego,

and the other Joseph Thomas.

One has in his bag.

reduced its flow;

and the other has some cows;

And a great sandal...

One will go out to galope.

and the other shall remain;

The one is called Diego

and the other Joseph Thomas.

One is subtle and skinny

which looks like a line of olan;

the other with his belly

He's got some monacal.

One speculates big,

the other charges the monthly;

One is called Diego,

and the other Joseph Thomas.

From one and another we'll laugh

before San Juan arrives;

one and another at that time

God knows where they'll be.

Taking off our hat,

We'll shout at the pair:

Happy night, Don Diego.

abur don José Tomás.

José Joaquín de Mora, Diario The TrumpetFebruary 14, 1831.

Predecessor: - Executive Acefalia	Chairman of the Board of Government 24 December 1829 - 18 February 1830	Successor: Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Portales Interim President
Predecessor: Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Portales Interim President	Vice-President of Chile 1 April 1830 - 21 March 1831	Successor: Fernando Errázuriz Aldunate Vice-President Accident