Juan Antonio Ríos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Juan Antonio Ríos OMCh
23rd President of Chile
In office April 2, 1942 – June 27, 1946
Preceded by	Jerónimo Méndez
Succeeded by	Alfredo Duhalde
Personal details
Born	(1888-11-10)November 10, 1888 Cañete, Chile
Died	June 27, 1946(1946-06-27) (aged 57) Santiago, Chile
Cause of death	Cancer
Political party	Radical Party
Spouse	Marta Ide Pereira ​ (m. 1921)​
Signature

Juan Antonio Ríos Morales (born November 10, 1888 – died June 27, 1946) was an important Chilean political leader. He served as the President of Chile from 1942 to 1946. His time as president happened during the middle of World War II. He passed away while still in office.

Early Life and Education

Juan Antonio Ríos was born on a large farm called Huichicura. This farm was close to Cañete, a town known for coal mining in southern Chile. He was the youngest son of Anselmo Ríos, a wealthy landowner, and his third wife, Lucinda Morales. His father died when Juan Antonio was very young. Because of this, his mother raised him and his three brothers by herself.

He went to primary school in Cañete. For his secondary education, he studied first in Lebu and then in Concepción. He later studied law at an annex of his school. In 1914, Ríos became a lawyer. His final project was about how the police force in Chile was created and grew.

Rising in Politics

Juan Antonio Ríos joined the Radical Party when he was in high school. He was part of the more traditional side of the party. He became the local leader of the party's youth group. Later, he was elected as a city council member.

During the presidential election in 1920, he worked hard for Arturo Alessandri. Ríos was in charge of the campaign in the southern part of the country. After Alessandri won, he rewarded Ríos by making him a Consul-general and a Chargé d'affaires in Panama. On October 21, 1921, he married Marta Ide. They had three sons named Juan, Carlos, and Fernando.

Ríos came back to Chile in 1924 to run for Congress. He was elected as a deputy (like a representative) for the areas of Arauco, Lebu, and Cañete. He was re-elected in 1926. After Alessandri became president again in 1925, Ríos helped write a new constitution for Chile. This led to the 1925 Chilean Constitution.

Over time, Juan Antonio Ríos became a very important leader of the Radical Party. When Colonel Carlos Ibáñez del Campo was president, Ríos was in a tricky spot. His party was against the government's strict rule, but he personally admired some of the government's achievements. As the party president, he served as a senator in a special Congress called the Thermal Congress. This Congress was put together by President Ibáñez. After Ibáñez left power in 1931, Ríos was removed from his party because he had worked with the previous government.

The year 1932 was very busy for Ríos in politics. First, he supported a coup that removed President Juan Esteban Montero. This led to the creation of the Socialist Republic of Chile. Then, Ríos became the Minister of the Interior when Carlos Dávila became the head of state. Three months later, Dávila resigned, and General Bartolome Blanche became president. Ríos then became his Minister of Justice. However, when Arturo Alessandri was elected president in 1932, Ríos was not as active in politics for a while.

Ríos ran as an independent candidate in the 1933 congressional election. He was elected as a deputy for Arauco and Cañete. This was the start of his return to political influence. In 1935, he was welcomed back into the Radical Party.

In 1937, many different political groups and organizations joined together to form the Popular Front. This included the Radical Party, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, and others. Ríos became the first president of this group. However, he lost the internal election to be the presidential candidate to Pedro Aguirre Cerda. Aguirre Cerda then won the presidential election in 1938.

During President Aguirre Cerda's time, Ríos was the president of Chile's biggest bank, the state-owned Caja de Credito Hipotecario. This bank gave loans to farmers. He also worked to gain more power within his party. His main political rival was Gabriel González Videla. But Ríos managed to have González Videla appointed as an ambassador to France. This left Ríos free to advance his own political career. People at the time said that President Aguirre Cerda had also offered Ríos an ambassador job. But Ríos supposedly replied, ... tell the President that I thank him for his offer, but I am moving up, not down.

1942 Presidential Campaign

In 1941, President Aguirre Cerda became very ill. He appointed his Minister of the Interior, Jerónimo Méndez, as vice-president. President Aguirre Cerda died soon after, on November 25, 1941. A new presidential election was set for February 1, 1942. This was the chance Ríos had been waiting for, and he immediately started campaigning.

However, two days before the internal party elections, Gabriel González Videla returned to Chile to challenge him for the nomination. The results were too close to decide a winner. So, a special "tribunal of honor" (an election committee) was formed. Juan Antonio Ríos was finally chosen as the candidate for the left-wing groups. This group, called the Democratic Alliance, included the Radical Party, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, and other parties.

The left-wing groups united against a common opponent, General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. Ríos was from the more traditional part of the Radical Party. He won against Ibáñez in the 1942 election. Ríos presented himself as a traditional candidate who was against fascism. Ibáñez had the support of Chile's Conservative party, Liberal Party, and other groups. Ríos won with 55.95% of the votes and became president on April 2, 1942.

Presidency of Juan Antonio Ríos

Juan Antonio Ríos's time as president faced challenges from the start. There was often disagreement among the different political groups in his government. Also, the Congress gained more power. The Chilean Communist Party was against Ríos because he first chose to stay neutral in World War II. He also refused to cut off diplomatic ties with the Axis Powers. On the other hand, the right-wing parties accused him of being too easy on the left-wing groups.

Economically, he faced problems with workers at home. This was partly because copper prices around the world dropped. At the same time, the Chilean Socialist Party said he was too soft on big businesses. They also felt he wasn't doing enough to create laws to protect workers' rights.

Domestic Affairs

Even though Ríos was elected with support from the Communist Party, he did not allow them to be directly part of his government. This led to their opposition. Instead, Ríos chose "technical experts" and "personal friends" for important government jobs. This allowed him to include people from his own party, as well as from the Conservative and Liberal parties.

In 1943, Congress approved a change to the 1925 constitution, which Ríos signed. This change made the Comptroller General (a government watchdog) a constitutional position. It also limited the President's power to spend public money without Congress's approval.

In 1944, the Radical Party gave Ríos a list of ideas that he did not agree with. These ideas included cutting off diplomatic relations with Franco's Spain. (Ríos had already cut ties with the Axis Powers in January 1943 due to pressure, especially from the United States.) The party also wanted Chile to recognize the USSR and wanted his cabinet to be made up only of Radicals. Ríos refused these ideas. Also, there were violent riots in Plaza Bulnes in Santiago, which led to several deaths. Because of this, all the Radical ministers resigned, leaving the President without support from his own party.

These disagreements within his government partly explain why right-wing parties did well in the 1945 elections. These elections were a big loss for the Socialists and Communists. The Radicals also lost some seats.

After returning from the United States, Ríos's health was failing. He gave his presidential powers to his Minister of the Interior, Alfredo Duhalde, on January 17, 1946. Ríos died of cancer about six months later, on June 27.

Foreign Relations

Until 1943, Chile and Argentina had not cut ties with the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan). Many people saw the Chilean election as very important during World War II. There was a strong disagreement between President Ríos and his supporting Democratic Alliance.

At first, Ríos's government wanted to stay neutral during the war. But the left-wing parties in his group wanted to immediately and completely break ties with the Axis. They also wanted to recognize the USSR. They saw this as their way to help fight fascism around the world.

Pressure from the United States, especially economic pressure, finally made him break off relations with the Axis Powers on January 20, 1943. However, he only declared war on Germany and Italy. While he started to imprison Japanese people in Chile, he did not declare war on Japan until 1945. By doing this, Chile became eligible for the Lend-Lease program. This program provided necessary loans that helped Chile's economy recover. By 1945, Chile was among the winning nations and could take part in international meetings after the war.

Death of President Ríos

President Ríos returned from his state visit and took back his presidential powers on December 3, 1945. But by then, he was already very sick with cancer. He officially handed over his presidential powers on January 17, 1946, to his Minister of the Interior, Alfredo Duhalde, who became vice-president. Juan Antonio Ríos spent his final days at Villa Paidahue, in La Reina. He passed away on June 27, 1946, before his term as president was supposed to end.

Images for kids

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  Signature of Juan Antonio Ríos

See also

In Spanish: Juan Antonio Ríos para niños