Chilean Constitutional History: From Emancipation to 1925

Posted on Nov 2, 2024 in History

Article 1 .- All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

The family is the fundamental unit of society. The State acknowledges and protects the intermediate groups through which society is organized and structured, guaranteeing adequate autonomy to fulfill their specific purposes.

The State serves the individual, promoting the common good. It creates social conditions enabling all members of the national community to achieve greater spiritual fulfillment and material assistance, respecting the rights and guarantees established by this Constitution.

The State safeguards national security, protects the population and the family, promotes family strengthening, fosters harmonious integration of all sectors of the Nation, and ensures equal opportunities for individuals to participate in national life.

Part One: The Pre-Constitutional Genesis

Chapter One: Emancipation and Institutional Life

The Emancipation and New Policy Ideas

1810-1820: The emancipation period marks the beginning of Chile’s institutional evolution. It introduced concepts of popular sovereignty and representative republican government.
During this time, new political trends emerged against the absolute monarchy.
By the eighteenth century, Chilean nationality had matured, paving the way for emancipation and the early republic.
Origins of the pre-Republic revolutionary spirit:

News of the Napoleonic invasion in Spain reached Chile, leading to the proclamation of St. Ignacio de Torres in Santiago (1808).
Measures included foreign surveillance and expulsion of the republican propagandist, Procopio Pollock.
Cases against Pedro Ramón Acuña Arriagada and Fray Rosauro, supporters of a republican system.
Arrest of Rojas, Vera, and Ovalle, resulting in García Carrasco’s resignation.
The Cabildo of Santiago recognized and swore in the Regency.
Sermons by Father Romo and Father Guerrero.
Circulation of the Christian Political Catechism by Father José Amor de la Patria, advocating popular sovereignty, republicanism, and independence from Spain.
Organization of Spanish and autonomous patrols to monitor potential revolts.

These events led to discussions about the legitimacy of Spanish rule, culminating in the Open Meeting on September 18, 1810, which established the First National Government.
The Chilean bourgeoisie, advocating constitutionalism and popular sovereignty, led the revolution, marking a new institutional order.
Constitution Order 1812 by José Miguel Carrera: Article 3 stated that Ferdinand VII (then a prisoner) should accept a constitution similar to Spain’s. Article 5 declared any external order, law, or decree invalid in Chile.
According to chronicler Fray Melchor Martínez, Carrera issued these regulations hoping Ferdinand VII would not be released by Napoleon.
Before the First National Congress election, Martínez de Rozas wanted to postpone it to ensure revolutionary sentiment prevailed over moderates.
O’Higgins agreed but believed Congress should embrace revolutionary ideas.
The bourgeoisie drew inspiration from the United States and France, the only liberal countries at the time.
Overcoming absolutism benefited both the aristocracy (gaining power) and the rising bourgeoisie, but they faced resistance from Creoles loyal to the crown.
The council aimed to establish the first national government, call congressional elections, and create a written code establishing people’s rights (like the U.S. and France).
Juan Egaña authored: Declaration of the Rights of the Chilean People (1810), Regulations for the Provisional Executive Authority of Chile (1811), and Draft Constitution for the State of Chile, demonstrating his commitment to a constitutional structure.
The four constitutions (1812, 1814, 1818, and 1822) reflect the constitutional efforts of the Founding Fathers. Liberalism, influenced by works like Montesquieu’s Esprit de Lois (1748), Rousseau’s Contrat Social (1712), Bayle’s Historical Dictionary (1700), and writings by Delolme, D’Alembert, and Lacroix, was not solely a French influence. Wealthy Creoles brought these ideas back from their travels.
Spanish liberalism also influenced Creoles (1808-1812) with three key lessons: the right to independence, rejection of absolutism and embrace of popular sovereignty, and recognition of constituent power to guarantee rights.
The 1809 Spanish Constitution recognized colonial representation in the Central Governing Board.
After Spanish forces were defeated in January 1810, the Junta of Seville established a Regency Council with similar liberal policies. The Manifesto of the Spanish American invited Creoles to participate in the Regency and the Constituent Cortes of Cadiz.
Creoles and Spaniards in the Cortes defended the division of powers, echoing Montesquieu and Rousseau.
The 1812 Cadiz Constitution provided constitutional protection for both Peninsular and American Spaniards. The author suggests the liberal revolution occurred in parallel in America and Spain, with the difference being that Peninsular Spaniards sought to end absolutism, while American Creoles aimed to nationalize colonial governments.
This Cadiz Constitution influenced early constitutions in Hispanic America, with some nations (Costa Rica and Mexico) retaining certain provisions.
American liberalism is evident in Chile’s 1812 Provisional Constitution Order. American and South American liberals linked the struggle for independence with the fight for freedom, drawing on ideas from Hamilton, Madison, Story, Kent, and Jefferson.

The Emancipation and the Struggle for State Organization

Post-emancipation, state organization proved challenging, with anarchy, coups, and dictatorships across America.
The author believes Chile’s state organization took two decades (1810-1829), parallel to emancipation (Chiloé was conquered in 1826). This “brief and peaceful development” contrasted with the dual revolutionary process of independence: external struggle against Spain (until 1826) and internal institutional organization based on radical, anti-colonial ideology.
1810-1820 saw monarchical structures, while 1820-1830 saw the rise of republicanism.

Emancipation and State Organization: An Aristocratic Movement

Independent Chile had two social classes: aristocrats (descendants of colonial Spaniards) and the mestizo population. Black populations did not prosper, and Araucanians faced extermination in the War of Arauco.
Early nineteenth-century political life was exclusive to the aristocracy. 82.1% of Chile’s population was rural and illiterate.
Post-emancipation, peasant subordination continued.
Chile lacked the racial struggles seen elsewhere in America, where black and native populations fueled pre-constitutional turbulence.
Chile’s homogeneity and hierarchy prevented social struggles until the mid-nineteenth century. Early conflicts were within the same social group.
Until the mid-nineteenth century, the ruling class enforced religious homogeneity (Catholicism) and shared economic interests.
The upper class, primarily landowners in the Central Valley, did not face a disruptive commercial sector like in Mexico, Caracas, or Buenos Aires.
The aristocracy divided into three camps: a radical minority (reformist ideologues or pipiolos), a conservative majority (pelucones), and an indifferent mass that eventually sided with conservatives, facilitating the Republic’s formation.
The reformist minority, comprising religious figures and idealistic patricians, dominated the first 20 years of independence. Their democratic idealism prevailed until 1829.

Absence of Militarism and Dictatorships

Chile lacked militarism. Figures like Carrera, O’Higgins, and Freire, though exalted, served civilian interests.
Carrera’s 1812 Provisional Constitution Order emphasized popular sovereignty and he willingly ceded command to O’Higgins in 1813.
After the 1817 Chacabuco victory, the aristocracy granted O’Higgins power. He then drafted the Plan of Finance and Public Administration, limiting his own power.
O’Higgins’ six-year rule was authoritarian but legal, not a dictatorship.
After the 1818 Maipú victory, the aristocracy revoked O’Higgins’ discretionary powers. He then drafted the 1818 Constitution, respecting the Senate’s authority, and relinquished power in 1823.
Under Freire (1823-1826), Chilean patricians like Egaña, Gandarillas, Infante, and Benavente effectively governed.

Deification of Law and Legal Regularity

During the first two decades, no leader seized power illegally. The focus was on constitutional security, even with impractical constitutions like the 1823 Moral Constitution. Freire resisted dictatorial powers and called Congress to suspend them.
Lack of civic culture led to a misconception of law as effective only for virtuous people. The legislators failed to consider that a perfect law might be inapplicable in a different social reality, resulting in theoretical and illusory reformism.
Civil power in Chile resided in institutions and law, not personal will. The state was established by law.
Political groups consistently rejected personal rule.

Strongly Authoritarian Governments

Authoritarianism between 1810 and 1820 stemmed from revolutionary agitation and the need for a strong central organization during the emancipation campaign.
O’Higgins’ 1818 Constitution established indefinite authoritarianism for the duration of the war against Spain.
Public administration, the Church, and the courts were subordinate to the Supreme Director.
This authoritarianism was legal: O’Higgins respected the Senate and courts, operating within the legal framework of the 1818 Constitution.
The 1818 Constitution also defined the powers of each branch of government, unlike during the Patria Vieja.

Chapter Two: Decentralized and Anti-Authoritarian Reaction

With Spanish expulsion in 1820, independence was strengthened, leading to an anti-authoritarian reaction.
O’Higgins’ resignation in 1823, the 1823 Moral Constitution, and the 1825 democratic federalism marked this reaction.

Legal Rationalism

Eighteenth-century rationalism influenced Hispanic America, with figures like Cura Morelos in Mexico and Fray Camilo Henríquez and Cayetano Rodríguez in Chile.
Rationalism viewed law as a product of reason, detached from historical, social, economic, or cultural contexts. The 1823 and 1825 Constitutions sought a rational political structure, ignoring historical realities.

Liberalism and Individualism

The Enlightenment and the French Revolution destroyed the old conservative political order.
Rule shifted from corporations and assemblies to individuals electing representatives, regardless of class or profession, reacting against the monarchy’s suppression of individual rights. The 1823 and 1825 Constitutions reflected this.

Concepts of Absolute Sovereignty and Natural Law

Individualism led to the doctrines of popular sovereignty and natural rights, expressing liberal philosophy. Power resided in the people.
Law was seen as a tool to change habits and create virtuous people.
Between 1823 and 1826, policy focused on equality and freedom.
Luis Campino (1827) supported popular sovereignty, arguing governments serve the people, not vice-versa.
Early nineteenth-century liberals justified violating positive law if it contradicted popular sovereignty.
Decentralized federalism emerged after O’Higgins’ resignation. Absolutism and centralism were seen as similar forces, while federalism represented freedom and a more efficient representative system, with each province having its own government.
Federalism, inspired by the United States, aimed to prevent autocracy and dictatorship by limiting federal power, contrasting with absolutist Europe.
Federalism gained traction elsewhere in America, as seen in Vicente Rocafuerte’s 1822 work, Ideas Necessary to All Independent People Who Want to be Free, in Ecuador.
Between 1824 and 1826, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and Argentina experimented with federalism.

Chapter Three: Centralized and Authoritarian Reaction

Francisco Antonio Pinto, Suspension of Federal Law, and the 1828 Constitution

Dissatisfaction with federal law led to the belief that democratic decentralization would not achieve a constitutional regime.
Pinto initiated a centralizing trend, suspending federal laws (with provincial assemblies’ permission) in 1827 and abolishing popular elections for political/religious offices, leaving only chapters.
Pinto’s November 1827 electoral reform prevented imperative mandates that favored federalism.
August 1828: Pinto promulgated a liberal constitution.
An anti-rationalist reaction (1823-1826) argued laws should reflect the customs of those governed.
Legislative power was limited through the National Congress Project.
The president’s honor was linked to the country, establishing a commission to appoint ministers and officials.
The 1833 Statute, a constitutional law, periodically checked presidential authoritarianism not addressed in the 1828 Constitution.

High quorum requirements for constitutional laws increased Parliament’s power over the executive.
The 1828 Constitution failed due to the pelucones’ desire for dominance, orchestrated by Portales.

The 1829 Revolution and the Portales Dictatorship

Diego Portales played a key role in shaping the government and drafting a new constitution through dictatorial means. The 1829 revolution aimed to align law with reality.
During the 1829 revolution, the Chilean upper class still favored strong parliamentary control. Portales’ dictatorial rule (1930-1831) reinforced this, leading to acceptance of a strong, authoritarian government.
The 1833 Constitution did not limit presidential authority, enshrining legal authoritarianism reminiscent of Portales’ dictatorship, O’Higgins’ rule, and the autocratic ideals of many American heroes.
Despite enshrining presidential absolutism, the 1833 Constitution’s regular laws subordinated the executive to the bourgeoisie’s guardianship, enabling political evolution from legal authoritarianism and conservatism towards broader democracy within a century.

Part Two: Constitutional Evolution

Chapter One: The Pelucon Republic (1831-1861)

The Spiritual Environment

Chile’s conservative period created an autocratic and oligarchic structure based on enlightened despotism, influenced by Egaña, Mariano, Andrés Bello, and Ventura Marín. They reinforced conservative and realistic attitudes, rejecting romanticism.

Presidential Authoritarianism and Democratic Development

Despotism was enshrined in constitutional law. Chilean political history until 1860 reveals a conflict of principles, with both sides sincerely holding opposing views.

Chapter Two: Liberal Parliamentarism

French Cultural Developments and Influence

From the liberation movement onwards, various activities stimulated intellectual development and increased contact with Europe. The Liberal Party’s founding introduced parliamentary practices and regular opposition.

The Mid-Nineteenth Century Spiritual Revolution

While Chile reacted against colonial influences, romanticism and positivism triumphed in Europe.
These trends emerged in Chile during Bulnes’ time. The loss of spiritual unity within the Chilean bourgeoisie led to demands for religious freedom, granted in 1865.
The pelucon Republic continued colonial traditions, while the Liberal Republic distanced itself from Spanish colonialism, aligning spiritually with France and embracing anti-traditionalist liberal philosophy.

Economic and Social Transformations

Material prosperity marked the Conservative period, driven by political peace, victory over Peru-Bolivia, and the discovery of silver ore in Chañarcillo.
A financial bourgeoisie, based on mining, export trade, and banking, emerged alongside the traditional agricultural aristocracy.
The 1857 Civil Code introduced French influence into private law, reinforced by the abolition of entail.
Liberalism permeated economic life, moving away from the Spanish colonial spirit.
The Pacific War (1879-1884) significantly impacted Chile, ushering in industrialism and the triumph of capitalist life forms.
Agrarian society declined. Educational advancements and spiritual transformations in the mid-nineteenth century allowed small mesocratic groups to emerge.
The Radical party largely resulted from this transformation.

Political Reforms and the Success of Parliamentarism

In the first phase (1833-1861), presidential authority was absolute, and the aristocracy held complete control. From 1871, influenced by new ideologies, political groups began conspiring against the authoritarian 1833 Constitution.
Cultural dualism, characteristic of developing societies, led to a tacit agreement between progressive urban and archaic rural forces, granting each freedom of action.

Chapter Three: Presidentialism and the 1925 Democratic Constitution

New Spiritual Currents

Reality was to be explained as it occurred, without philosophical distortion. Objects were viewed functionally, their nature revealed through relations with other entities.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw individualist liberalism, rationalism, materialism, and positivism dominate, viewing historical life forms as perfect expressions of their time.

The Industrial Revolution and New Trends

The Chilean Constitution required plebiscites for presidential vetoes on constitutional reforms insisted upon by two-thirds of Congress.
The agrarian movement gained global momentum after World War I.
The state’s role in organizing special interests grew.
The 1925 Constitution established a regime based on separation of powers, with executive dominance. All constitutions expanded social services, shifting economic matters from private law to the political sphere.
Economic public policy emerged, transforming private law into a collectivist form.

Democratic Presidential and Social Development

Its growth has been paralleled with the development of democratic system of government.
The middle class in Chile is a product of industrialism, the development of education and increased state and private bureaucracy, therefore, is of recent formation.
The attitude of the middle class is explained by:
1. The democratic spirit 2. Agricultural system in March. Economic Unit 4. The devaluation of paper money in May.Improving the working class than middle class. June. Formation of the middle class in July. There was the attitude of the middle class that is about the proletariat. The nitrate crisis, the problem of unemployment, an opposition majority smart, tough, violent, and the Senate and a precarious situation in the Liberal Alliance itself are the main difficulties that had to fight Alessandri. After great vicissitudes the President manages the approval by Congress of 1924 seven laws of nature Alesandri social.La social transformation achieved by the reforms of the previous year will be referred to the political and economic reforms in 1925 mean: Constitution, 1925 Elections Act. Creation of the Central Bank.