Radical Governments of Chile
The Radical Party's ideology found its roots in the principles of the 1789 French Revolution, upholding the values of liberty, equality, solidarity, participation and well-being.
He narrowly defeated the conservative candidate Gustavo Ross, mostly because of the political backlash caused by the Seguro Obrero Massacre which followed an attempted coup d'état by the National Socialist Movement of Chile (MNS), intended to take down the rightwing government of Arturo Alessandri and place Ibáñez in power.
The German-Soviet Non Aggression Pact of 1939 during the Second World War led to the dismantling of the left-wing coalitions, as the Comintern then denounced the Popular Front strategy.
One of his most fruitful initiatives was the creation of the Corporation for the Promotion of Production, Corfo, a technical body that marked the beginning of the industrialization process in the country.
The left-wings' coalition remained intact after President Aguirre's death, united by a common opponent, General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.
The Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática) chose as candidate a member of the conservative wing of the Radical Party, Juan Antonio Ríos, who defeated Ibáñez in the February 1942 election, obtaining 55,7% of the votes.
The Chilean Communist Party opposed Ríos who had initially chosen neutrality and refused to break off diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers, while the right-wing accused him of complacency with the Left.
At the same time, the Chilean Socialist Party accused him of being too light on large firms and to abstain from passing labour legislation protecting workers'.
By breaking off relations with the Axis, President Ríos made Chile eligible for the United States' Lend-Lease program, and obtained loans necessary to help achieve an economic recovery.
These internal divisions partly explained the right-wing success' during the 1945 legislative elections, which were a debacle for the Socialists and the Communists, who obtained close to no seats in Parliament.
Furthermore, the repression of riots on Plaza Bulnes in Santiago, leading to several deaths, gave another reason for criticisms against the President, and led to the resignation of part of the cabinet.
Faced with a cancer in terminal stage, he gave up his presidential powers in January, 1946, to his Minister of the Interior, Alfredo Duhalde Vásquez, who acted as vice-president until his death on June 27, 1946.
He was duly confirmed on October 24 that year, following various negotiations between the parties, which led to the creation of a composite cabinet, including liberals, radicals and communists.
Following the municipal elections, during which the Communist Party highly increased its representation, the PCC demanded more cabinet seats, which González refused to grant.
González's tough stance against social movements led to protest demonstrations, allegedly in an intent to repeat the events of the Bogotazo in Colombia.
Despite this political, social and economical instability, González's government did manage some important successes, including the complete integration of women to political life, the remodeling of the city of La Serena, the development of an Antarctic policy with the creation of the Antártica Chilena Province — González was the first chief of state of any nation to visit Antarctica, and the Gonzalez Videla Antarctic Base was named after him — and the determination along with Peru and Ecuador of the 200 nautical miles (370 km) of the Exclusive Economic Zone.
