9. Diego Portales ruled over Chile with an iron fist, but he was a dictator who never held the top political office in the country
He never the office of President of Chile. In fact, the highest political office he held was that of Minister of the Interior. But nevertheless, Diego Portales was undoubtedly the most powerful man in all of Chile during one of the most significant periods in the country’s history. Indeed, he effectively ruled as dictator, having his way over a range of issues, from religion through to politics and the economy. Despite being a hugely controversial figure during his own lifetime, Portales is held in high regard by a significant proportion of the Chilean public and his legacy can still be seen in the country to this day.
Portales was born in 1793 into relative wealth. He then made himself a fortune as a young man, having been awarded a monopoly on tea, tobacco and alcoholic liquor. Though the arrangement was short-lived, it was enough to set him up for life, and more than enough to establish two newspapers. Portales used these newspapers to put forward his political views. Quite simply, he believed in strict authoritarian rule, with power restricted to a handful of rich and powerful individuals. And so, when the Conservative Party came to power in 1830 and he was invited to become a minister, he saw the chance to put his beliefs into action.
Using the new-look 1833 Constitution as the basis for his actions, Portales became the de facto dictator of Chile. He barred both Liberals and members of the military from holding any power. What’s more, he even had his Liberal opponents jailed and their media shut down, with his own newspapers supporting such intolerant actions. Though Presidents came and went, Portales held the real power in the country. So much so, in fact, that he even started a war, in part to protect his own business interests. In 1836, Chile went to war with Peru and Bolivia. Though Chile emerged victorious, Portales himself was killed by enemy assassins. His days of ruling the country single-handedly were over, though the reforms he pushed through as a strongman would lay the foundations for Chile’s social and economic progress over the next century.