History of Chile during the Parliamentary Era (1891–1925)
| Republic of Chile | ||||||||||
| República de Chile | ||||||||||
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Anthem Himno Nacional de Chile |
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| Capital | Santiago | |||||||||
| Languages | Spanish | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism (official religion) until 1925 | |||||||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||||||
| President | ||||||||||
| • | 1891–1896 | Jorge Montt first | ||||||||
| • | 1925 - 1925 | Arturo Alessandri Palma last | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Civil War | September 18, 1891 | ||||||||
| • | Constitution of 1925 | September 18, 1925 | ||||||||
| Currency | Chilean peso | |||||||||
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The Parliamentary Era in Chile began in 1891, at the end of the Civil War, and spanned until 1925 and the establishment of the 1925 Constitution. Also called "pseudo-parliamentary" period or "Parliamentary Republic", this period was thus named because it established a quasi-parliamentary system based on the interpretation of the 1833 Constitution following the defeat of President José Manuel Balmaceda during the Civil War. As opposed to a "true parliamentary" system, the executive was not subject to the legislative power but checks and balances of executive over the legislature were weakened. The President remained the head of state but its powers and control of the government were reduced. The Parliamentary Republic lasted until the 1925 Constitution drafted by President Arturo Alessandri and his minister José Maza. The new Constitution created a presidential system, which lasted, with several modifications, until the 1973 coup d'état.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chile temporarily resolved its border disputes with Argentina with the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina, the Puna de Atacama Lawsuit of 1899 and the Cordillera of the Andes Boundary Case, 1902.
The pseudo-parliamentary system was established in Chile following José Manuel Balmaceda's defeat in the 1891 Chilean Civil War. Whereas in a complete parliamentary system the chief of government is designed by the parliamentary majority, and usually belongs to it, the function of chief of government was hereby unofficially assumed by the Minister of Interior. The National Congress indirectly controlled his nomination and the rest of the cabinet through the vote of the periodical laws (leyes periódicas), that is the budget, the military credits, etc. Others means of control included the refusal, by any one of the two Chambers (Senate or Chamber of Deputies) to vote a motion of confidence or the refusal to vote laws of lesser importance proposed by the executive.
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