Germán Riesco

Public policies

As president Riesco was faced with crippling parliamentary divisions. He was forced to appoint no fewer than 17 different governments, each lasting an average of just three and a half months. Even though he had been elected with the support of the Liberal Alliance, he was deserted by them and had to seek the support of the Conservative Coalition (his former opponents). In the end, he had to switch back and forth between both groups in order to complete his term. The result was that since he lacked a congressional majority of his own, he was forced to name caretaker ministers, lacking efficacy or permanence.

As a former member of the judiciary, his principal efforts were channeled towards legal reforms. He managed to establish a new Code of Civil Procedure (1902) which is still in force today, and a Code of Penal Procedure (1906), which lasted almost 100 years. In 1905 he began construction of the new building for the Supreme Court, that was finished in 1911. He concluded several important public works, such as the sewers for the city of Santiago and the new network of electrical trams. He greatly expanded secondary education, especially for women, and doubled the number of Normal Schools for the preparation of new teachers.

In 1906, a housing law was passed with the intention of improving housing conditions and promote the construction of new homes.^[2]

Due to the rising inflation, he was forced to refuse a return to the metallic conversion, and to authorize a new emission of paper money. This measure caused a dramatic fall in the exchange rate and higher inflation, which in turn gave way to higher social unrest.

International situation

On the international stage, at the end of 1901, Chile and Argentina were on the brink of war, due to border disputes. There was an ongoing naval arms race, and both countries called their reserve soldiers. Nonetheless, diplomacy prevailed, and both countries signed the May Treaties on May 28, 1902, followed by arbitration on Patagonia, on November 20 of the same year. These treaties were complemented by the union of the telegraphic lines of both countries, with commonality of tariffs.

He signed a final peace treaty with Bolivia on October 20, 1904, putting an official end to the War of the Pacific. He also re-established diplomatic relations with Peru in 1906, in order to move ahead on the solution of the Tacna and Arica controversy; and gave the first impulse to establishing a claim to Antarctica, by issuing a law regimenting seal-hunting there.

Meat riots

On October 22, 1905, some of the poorest people in Santiago organized a march to protest for the high price of meat. The price of meat was kept artificially high by the government, by means of the combination of a special tariff applied to cattle imports from Argentina, in order to protect the domestic producers, and high inflation. These factors put the price of the product beyond the financial means of a high percentage of the population. By the time the march had arrived peacefully to La Moneda and asked for an audience with President Riesco, it had already swelled to about 25 to 30 thousand people.

The people started to grow impatient when the president didn't appear, and when the police tried to dissolve them, they fought back and tried to storm the presidential palace. The police responded by shooting at the crowd, and riots ensued. The violence lasted for almost a week, with widespread riots and looting, in what was called the Meat riots or the red week. Between 200 and 250 protesters were killed over this period. This revolt emphasized that the social problems were far more serious than what the authorities believed.

Antofagasta general strike

A few months later, a similar revolt took place in Antofagasta. The workers that were laying the rails for the Antofagasta-Bolivia railroad presented a letter of demands to management, that was completely refused by the company. As a result, a general strike was called. The previous experience with the Meat riots alerted the government, that decided to send in the Esmeralda regiment and the cruise-ship Blanco Encalada to reinforce the local forces.

On February 6, 1906, approximately 3 thousand workers gathered in the public square of Antofagasta to protest in favor of his demands. The troops opened fire on the unarmed workers, causing approximately 58 deaths and more than 300 injured.