Government Junta of Chile (1924)
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Government Junta of Chile (September 11, 1924) - January 23, 1925), (also known as the September Junta) was the political structure established to rule Chile following the Military Coup that overthrew President Arturo Alessandri. It ruled the country until it was ousted by yet another Military Coup, and gave way to the January Junta.
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[edit] Creation
During most of 1924, Chile had been politically paralized by a conflict between the President and the conservatively controlled congress, who refused to discuss the laws projects that he sent them. On September 3, 1924 a group of 56 military officers protested for their low salaries, in the incident known as the saber-noise. The next day the same group of young military officers involved led by Colonel Marmaduque Grove and Major Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, created a "military committee" to defend themselves from the government. On September 5, the "military committee" demanded of President Arturo Alessandri the dismissal of three of his ministers, including the minister of War; the enactment of a labor code, the passage of an income tax law, and the improvement of the military salaries. Alessandri had no option but to appoint General Luis Altamirano, the Army Inspector General (Chief of the Army), as head of a new cabinet. On September 8, General Altamirano appeared in front of Congress to demand the passage of eight laws, including Alessandri's labor code. Congress didn't dare to protest, and the laws, that had been dormant for years, were passed in a matter of hours.
At that point, Alessandri felt that he had become just a pawn of the military and on September 9, he resigned, and requested assylum at the US Embassy. Congress refused to accept his resignation, and instead granted him a six-months constitutional leave of absence. He left the country inmediately for Italy. On September 11th, a military Junta was established to rule the country on his absence.
[edit] Members
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Division General | Luis Altamirano Talavera |
| Vice Admiral | Francisco Nef Jara |
| Division General | Juan Pablo Bennett Argandoña |
[edit] History
The Junta was made of General Altamirano, who was chief of the Army; Admiral Nef, who was chief of the Navy; and General Bennett, who became the representative of the "military committee". General Altamirano assumed dictatorial powers and proceeded to close Congress. During his conservative rule, he tried several measures to control the economic crisis and to reform the local bureacracy. Nonetheless, from the very beginning the Junta proved ineffective in implementing any real changes to the political status quo.
The "military committee" started to suspect that a Conservative restoration was under way. The fears seemed confirmed when Ladislao Errazuriz, head of the conservative party, suddenly presented his candidacy to the upcoming presidential elections. At that point, the Junta lost the confidence of those who had elevated them to power. On January 23, 1925, army troops surrounded the La Moneda Palace and arrested General Altamirano. The power was then handed to General Pedro Pablo Dartnell; who in turn gave way to the January Junta a few days later.
