Pablo Ruiz-Tagle. Five Republics and One Tradition A History of Constitutionalism in Chile 1810–2020. Translated by Ana Luisa Goldsmith. Cambridge Studies in Law and Society. Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 2020. ix + 305 pp. (e-book), ISBN 978-1-108-88361-0; $110.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-108-83531-2.
Reviewed by Natalia Sobrevilla Perea (University of Kent)
Published on H-LatAm (September, 2022)
Commissioned by Casey M. Lurtz (Johns Hopkins University)
As Chile prepares for a plebiscite to decide whether to enact a new constitution in September 2022, Pablo Ruiz-Tagle's Five Republics and One Tradition offers an in-depth study of the history of the different ways the country has been organized politically since it was created in the early nineteenth century. Following the French pattern of naming each constitutional period a “republic,” Ruiz-Tagle considers that there have been five, all within one tradition that espouses written constitutions, where law limits power; Chileans bear the constituent power; and the ballot box is upheld as the preferred mechanism for representation.
The book begins with a thorough analysis of what republican constitutionalism is, delving into the works of many of the most important authors that have theorized on the subject. It aims to set a balance between the experience of authoritarianism and dictatorship that has characterized Chile and the times when freedom, equality, and the dignity of the individual have prevailed. This revision of the relevant literature goes from authors such as Alberto Edwards and Jaime Eyzaguirre, who wrote in the early twentieth century, to much more contemporary ones such as Roberto Gargarella. Ruiz-Tagle's aim is to establish a common ground to understand the historic development of each of the constitutional periods, as well as the tradition from which it emerges.
The first republic coincides with independence and encompasses the first attempts to create a stable and functioning system. Ruiz-Tagle further divides this republic into three phases. The first one was between 1810 to 1814, when self-government was attempted without much success. This was followed by an authoritarian second phase where independence was declared but institutions were autocratic, leading finally to a third phase between 1823 and 1830 when a republican form of government was adopted. This chapter is dedicated to a detailed analysis of how institutions were built and the importance that citizenship and republican ideals had in the process. Despite the focus on institutions, Ruiz-Tagle argues that it was during a period of anarchy that “some of the truly republican features of Chilean constitutionalism were established” (p. 60).
Chapter 3 is concerned with the second republic, which the author describes as the authoritarian republic and which scholars often refer to as the “Portalian order” in honor of the political ideals of minister Diego Portales. For many authors this is the moment that sets Chile on a different path from the rest of the countries in the region as order was imposed. For Ruiz-Tagle the most important feature of the era was that the 1833 Constitution “reproduced the complete catalog of rights of the 1828 Constitution,” but their application was limited by the state of emergency, and more specifically the state of siege (p. 70). It was at this point that Chile became extremely centralized, unitarian, and hierarchical, and Ruiz-Tagle provides a series of analyses that engage with authors from across the decades to argue that this set Chile on a different course from other countries in the region but also that “the 1833 authoritarian reform creates an imperfect form because it allows a political practice that excludes the participation of liberals” (p. 71).
In chapter 4, Ruiz-Tagle describes the third republic as the liberal republic, lasting from 1870 to 1924. During this time Congress acquired a stronger position and this led to tension with the authoritarian president, tension that remained unresolved until the civil war of 1891. The president’s extraordinary faculties were then restricted, “legislative quorum [was] reduced, impeachment [was] regulated and parliamentary audit [was] increased and the limiting of electoral intervention [was] sought” (p. 95). All this led to confrontation and ultimately to civil war, which ended up further strengthening the legislative branch. In spite of this, as Ruiz-Tagle points out, power continued to be centralized in Santiago.
The fourth republic, presented in chapter 5, began with a coup d’état, which took place on September 11, 1924. Arturo Alessandri took power, closed Congress, and enacted a new constitution in 1925. This was in fact a reform of the 1833 constitution proposed by the executive and approved by plebiscite. A military dictatorship followed, lasting from 1927 to 1931, after which governments paid lip service to the constitution, even though the system continued to be presidentialist and presidents regularly used extraordinary powers. In spite of the methods, Ruiz-Tagle argues that at this time the “constitutional rights of individuals were extended through legislative interpretation” (p. 113). Even as industrialization allowed for important changes such as a new understanding of how the right to property ought to be guaranteed, public freedoms and the right to suffrage were limited. This made it possible for the development of new ideas on how agricultural land could be used, and subsequent governments sought to bring forward reforms. According to the author, property was the main constitutional issue in contention during the twentieth century in Chile, and to a large extent he argues that this both allowed for Salvador Allende to put forward substantial reforms and also ultimately led to the coup against him.
Chapter 6 is extremely short and deals with Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-90) and how it managed to impose a constitution in 1980. Ruiz-Tagle argues that this constitution was antirepublican as constituent power was transferred from the people to the governing junta. Even though there was a referendum, the author does not consider it to have been democratic, as it was there only to rubber-stamp something that had been imposed. Chapter 7, which is by far the longest, tries to establish the ways in which the reforms to Pinochet's charter implemented since 1990 were what Ruiz-Tagle defines as “the neoliberal republic.” Even though the constitution has been changed, it still distorts the sovereign will of the people. This extremely detailed analysis will doubtlessly fascinate experts and constitutional scholars, but does become slightly too demanding for the general reader.
In the final chapter, Ruiz-Tagle discusses recent events and considers whether a new constitutional “moment” is possible. He is adamant that Chile needs a new constitution because the 1980 one is undemocratic in its origin, and in spite of reform it is still neither democratic nor republican. Although much of what is discussed here has been superseded by current events and Chile is immersed in a new constitutional process, this final chapter provides a series of considered reasons that explain why the majority in the country opted for pursing a new constitution. In September 2022 the Chilean people rejected the new constitution being proposed to them, so what Ruiz-Tagle would consider the sixth republic did not commence, but the process of constitutional change is far from over.
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at: https://networks.h-net.org/h-latam.
Citation:
Natalia Sobrevilla Perea. Review of Ruiz-Tagle, Pablo, Five Republics and One Tradition A History of Constitutionalism in Chile 1810–2020.
H-LatAm, H-Net Reviews.
September, 2022.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56317
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. |