14 Facts About Arturo Alessandri

Arturo Alessandri was the son of Pedro Alessandri Vargas and Susana Palma Guzman.

Arturo Alessandri's grandfather, Pietro Allesandri Tarzi, was an Italian immigrant from Tuscany who had arrived in Chile from Argentina in 1850.

At the age of 12, Arturo Alessandri enrolled at the Sacred Hearts High School, where his brothers and father had studied.

At the age of 20, Arturo Alessandri began his legal studies at the University of Chile.

In 1897, Arturo Alessandri began his political career, becoming a member of the Liberal Party and representative of Curico, a seat he would keep for nearly 20 years.

In 1920, Arturo Alessandri was the Liberal Alliance candidate for president, narrowly defeating his opponent of the Coalition Party, Luis Barros Borgono.

Since the opposition controlled the National Congress, Arturo Alessandri favored strengthening the executive power, which lacked political weight before the Congress.

Arturo Alessandri had no option but to appoint General Luis Altamirano, the Army Inspector General, as head of a new cabinet.

Furthermore, Arturo Alessandri created a Central Bank, initiating the first rupture with laissez faire policies.

In March 1925, Arturo Alessandri's government repressed a demonstration, leading to the Marusia massacre, soon followed by La Coruna massacre.

The President asked the Parliament on several opportunities for the state of constitutional exception, resulting in illegal actions, such as the famous burning of the Topaze Magazine issue No 285, which depicted a caricature of Arturo Alessandri he considered offensive.

Arturo Alessandri was of vital importance in the presidential elections of 1942 and 1946, in the first by causing a division of votes of the liberals, supporting Juan Antonio Rios, and in the second by presenting himself as a preliminary candidate of the liberals.

Arturo Alessandri later yielded his candidacy to his son Fernando, resulting in the division of the presidential candidates of the right and conservative support for Dr Eduardo Cruz-Coke, in turn favoring the victory of Gabriel Gonzalez Videla.

One of his other sons, Jorge Arturo Alessandri, was president of Chile from 1958 to 1964.