Diego José Pedro Víctor Portales y Palazuelos (; June 16, 1793 – June 6, 1837) was a Chilean statesman, military figure and entrepreneur. As a minister of president José Joaquín Prieto's government, he played a pivotal role in shaping the state and politics in the 19th century, delivering with the Constitution of 1833 the framework of the Chilean state for almost a century. Portales' influential political policies included unitarianism, presidentialism and conservatism which led to the consolidation of Chile as a constitutional, authoritarian and aristocratic republic with the franchise restricted to upper class men from the gentry.
On August 15, 1819, he married his cousin, Josefa Portales y Larraín. He had two daughters with her, both of whom died within days of their birth. His wife also died soon after in 1821. He never remarried, but took Constanza Nordenflicht as his mistress, with whom he had three children.
In July 1821, he resigned from his job at the Mint and went into business. He opened a trading house, Portales, Cea and Co., based in Valparaiso with a branch in Lima, Peru. He bid and obtained management of the government monopoly on tobacco, tea, and liquor (known in Spanish as estanco). In exchange for the monopoly, he offered to service in full Chile's foreign debt. Nonetheless, in the anarchy that was regnant in Chile at the time, there was no means of enforcing a monopoly as the government could not regulate sales of tobacco, tea, and liquor, and the company eventually went bankrupt. His contract with the government was voided and the Chilean government was found to owe Portales 87,000 pesos. Out of this unsuccessful business venture, the only remnant was the name eventually applied to his political followers, who in time came to be known as the estanqueros (monopolists).
Political career
Soon after, he aligned with the conservatives in the political fights that were wracking Chile at the time. As aforementioned, in 1824, Portales' business firm acquired control over the government's monopoly of tobacco, tea, and liquor; however, the country's troubled conditions soon thwarted his profitable business. For these reasons, Portales finally entered into the political sphere, and very soon he would become the intellectual leader of the conservative side. He helped to reorganize the conservative party, and, in 1827, founded El Hambriento (or The Starveling), a journal attacking liberal idealists known as the pipiolos ("white beaks") from Portales' party's (a.k.a. the pelucones or "big wigs") perspective. Portales was an effective satirist, contributing several popular articles to The Starveling. Portales' articles placed him in the limelight and paved the way for his political career.
thumb|left|150px|Early print (1854)
After the triumph of the conservatives in the Revolution of 1829, President José Tomás Ovalle y Bezanilla named him Minister of the Interior and Foreign Affairs on April 6, 1830, remaining until May 1831. He was named again to that position by President Fernando Errázuriz Aldunate on July 9, 1831, and remained until August 31, 1831, and named once again by President José Joaquín Prieto from November 9, 1835, to January 1837. Something similar happened with his nomination as minister of war and navy from April 6, 1830, until May 1831; then from July 9, 1831, until December 1832 and from September 21, 1835, to September 1836.
There was an assassination attempt on Portales in November 1836; the assassin was shot and killed.
Political philosophy
In 1822, before his rise to power Portales wrote to a friend:<blockquote>Politics doesn't interest me, but as a good citizen I feel free to express my opinions and to censure the government. Democracy, which is so loudly proclaimed by the deluded is an absurdity in our countries, flooded as they are with vices and with their citizens lacking all sense of civic virtue, the prerequisite to establishing a real Republic. But monarchy is not the American ideal either; if we get out of one terrible government just to jump headlong into another, what will we have gained? The Republican system is the one which we must adopt, but do you know how I interpret it for our countries? A strong central government whose representatives will be men of true virtue and patriotism, and who thus can direct the citizens along the path of order and progress.
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Con su compañera, Constanza Nordenflycht tuvieron tres hijos, los que posteriormente quedaron huérfanos; el presidente Joaquín Prieto los declaró hijos legítimos de Diego Portales Palazuelos y .
Fue electo senador, periodo 1837–1846, en el V Congreso Nacional, 1837-1840; fue asesinado en los días de apertura del periodo y no alcanzó a incorporarse.
En 1840 fue electo por seis años, como subrrogante de Diego Portales, el coronel Ramón de la Cavareda Trucios.
Su actuación como ministro y sus ideas sobre la forma de ejercer el poder político quedaron plasmados en la Constitución de 1833, en cuya redacción no intervino directamente, pero influyó decisivamente, en el sentido de establecer un régimen impersonal y fuerte.
Su presencia en el gobierno ya impuso el orden; con sus primeras medidas como multiministro, indicó que había que hacer cambios profundos.
Impuso un nuevo concepto de sanción, basado en que el gobierno legítimo de Chile estaba compuesto por los mandatarios designados por el congreso de representantes. Según esto, Freire y sus sucesores no eran gobernantes legítimos, sino simples facciosos.
Para estabilizar el gobierno, era necesario también erradicar de la administración y del ejército a todos los participantes en las revueltas y desterrar a los más peligrosos. Así Freire salió de Chile y se dió de baja a 136 uniformados que no juraron fidelidad a la autoridad civil. También se separó de sus puestos a los funcionarios que los abandonaron, para seguir a Freire.
Pensaba que todos debían opinar contra el gobierno, pero no subvertir el orden. La conspiración y el estímulo de ella se transformaron en delito.
Otra de sus medidas fue que las fuerzas armadas no deliberaran, sino que debieran ciega obediencia a los poderes constituídos; para que ello fuera entendido desde las bases, ordenó reorganizar la Academia Militar.
Como contrapeso al ejército estableció una guardia civil, la cual organizó personalmente.
Se preocupó también, de que los funcionarios de la administración pública trabajaran responsablemente.
En materia educacional, se preocupó de mejorar el Instituto Nacional e instituyó el 18 de septiembre como fiesta patria.
Creó el ministerio de Justicia, Culto e Instrucción Pública, en febrero de 1937; modificó la planta de empleados y delimitó las funciones de cada secretaría de Estado.
También cursó un decreto que obligaba a los Tribunales a fundamentar sus sentencias y citar la ley que las sustentaba; estableció exigencias de conocimientos para los empleados públicos; realizó una profunda reforma penitenciaria.
La iglesia no quedó fuera de sus ansias reorganizadoras: creó dos nuevos obispados, uno en Coquimbo y otro en Chiloé, y con la venia papal convirtió en arzobispado el obispado de Santiago.
En cuanto a educación, abrió más escuelas y solicitó a los agentes de la República en otros países, que enviaran información acerca de otros sistemas pedagógicos, sobre todo, respecto a escuelas normales para profesores.
Impulsó el desarrollo de la Marina de Guerra y Mercante y para ello creó la Escuela Náutica, que comenzó a funcionar en 1834; dos años después promulgó una ley destinada al fomento del cabotaje; la Escuadra, que no era más que un bergantín, aumentó a dos fragatas, dos corbetas y una goleta.
Entre otras actividades, fue también gobernador de Valparaíso.
Portales estuvo a favor de la guerra, cuando Perú y Bolivia formaban la Confederación Perú-Boliviana, ya que en ella vió una amenaza para Chile; debido a intrigas del diplomático boliviano en Chile, Portales perdió cada vez más popularidad, hasta que fue fusilado, por un sector del ejército, en Valparaíso, el 4 de octubre de 1837.
Soldados del Regimiento Valdivia encontraron los restos del ministro, los que fueron trasladados a Santiago. Actualmente en su lápida, detrás del altar mayor de la Catedral de Santiago, dice: "Diego portales fundador de la República De Chile". -->
The figure and legacy of Portales has been praised by some historians like and Alberto Edwards. Other historians, including Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, Sergio Villalobos and Gabriel Salazar, have a negative view of Portales.
Remains
thumb|right|200px|Portales' crypt in the Santiago Cathedral following his reburial
Portales' remains, missing since his assassination, were found in March 2005 in Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral during renovation projects, and were identified after forensic examination. On June 20, 2006, the remains were taken to the civic crypt of the Cathedral for a civic-religious re-burial ceremony attended by then-President Michelle Bachelet, along with several civil and military authorities.
Further reading
- Collier, Simon. Ideas and Politics of Chilean Independence, 1808-1833. (1967)
- Crow, John A. The Epic of Latin America. By John A. Crow. 4th ed. New York: University of California P, 1992.
- Kinsbrunner, Jay. Diego Portales: Interpretive Essays on the Man and Times (1967)
- Sater, William F. "Diego José Pedro Victor Portales Palazuelos" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, vol. 4, pp. 442–44. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
- Letters by Diego Portales
See also
- Chilean Civil War of 1829–1830
- Francisco de Meneses Brito
References
External links
- "Portales, Diego: A Chilean Biography." Charlene Richardson.
- "Diego Portales" Encyclopædia Britannica.
- Portales, Diego: A Chilean Biography