Jose Manuel Balmaceda (19 July 1840-19 September 1891) was President of Chile from 18 September 1886 to 29 August 1891, succeeding Domingo Santa Maria and preceding Manuel Baquedano. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Chile, and he committed suicide following the Chilean Civil War of 1891.
Biography[]
Jose Manuel Balmaceda was born in Bucalemu, Chile on 19 July 1840, and he came from a wealthy family. He became a liberal journalist before being first elected as a Liberal Party of Chile deputy in 1864. In 1886, he was elected President after being the only candidate to have run in the election, and his election was bitterly opposed by conservatives and dissident liberals. He succeeded in reunifying the liberal cause, and he increased government expenditure and strengthened the country's military and educational system. However, Congress became hostile to him in 1889, as he was unable to appoint ministers agreed upon by the Congress without going against his own policies. On 1 January 1891, he unilaterally decided that his budget proposal from 1890 would be that year's official budget, an act which exceeded presidential power and led to the outbreak of the Chilean Civil War of 1891. On 29 August 1891, he handed over power to General Manuel Baquedano, and he remained in hiding at the Argentine embassy until 19 September, when he shot and killed himself rather than surrender to the new government.