José Victorino Lastarria (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse βiɣtoˈɾino lasˈtarja]; 23 March 1817 – 14 June 1888) was a Chilean writer, legislative deputy, senator, diplomat, and finance minister.

With a group of students from the National Institute, he formed the Literary Society of 1842, an entity for the dissemination of liberal ideas then prohibited by the government of Manuel Bulnes.

[5] In 1848, with the escalation of repression by the country's Conservative government, Lastarria joined the Society of Equality [es], a revolutionary group which sought to overthrow Bulnes and the Constitution of 1833.

[7] In 1859, after the popular uprising that forced Antonio Varas to abandon his candidacy, Lastarria became one of the main faces of the transition to Liberal government that took place between 1861 and 1871 under the administration of José Joaquín Pérez.

At this time, in addition to being dean of philosophy at the University of Chile, he was appointed Minister of Finance, where he tried to impose social market economic concepts, without much success.

In early 1865 he traveled to Argentina, leading a diplomatic mission with the objective of forming an alliance against the Spanish, as well as negotiating the possession of Patagonia.

Lastarria proposed an agreement which would grant Argentina almost the entire territory in question, with the exception of Tierra del Fuego and some surrounding areas.