Convención Preparatoria

The 1822 Chilean Convention Preparatoria () was an elected representative body that met in Santiago from 23 July to 30 October 1822. It was convened by Supreme Director Bernardo O'Higgins to prepare the organization of a new representative institution and a constitutional framework for Chile. Thirty-two deputies, including proprietors and substitutes, were elected by municipal councils in May 1822. The convention was initially tasked with organizing a proposed Corte de Representantes, but it subsequently assumed legislative functions and evolved into a Legislative Congress and then a Constituent Congress.

The convention was elected through municipal councils rather than by a general popular ballot. Under O'Higgins's 7 May 1822 convocatoria, each municipality in the capitals of provinces and parties was to elect, by an absolute majority of votes, one person who was a native or resident of the locality. Candidates had to be at least 25 years old and possess real or industrial property.

The convention's principal constitutional achievement was the Constitution of 1822, which established a representative government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The constitution provided for a bicameral legislature consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. It was approved by the Constituent Congress on 23 October and promulgated by O'Higgins on 30 October 1822.

Background

The convention was established during a period of growing conflict between O'Higgins and Chile's political institutions. The Conservative Senate, created under the Constitution of 1818, had exercised legislative and constitutional oversight functions since October 1818. Its relationship with O'Higgins deteriorated, and in May 1822 the Director Supreme called for a new representative body without consulting the Senate.

On 29 May, the Senate, after questioning O'Higgins about the scope of the proposed convention, declared itself closed. The convention was therefore established in the context of a dispute over the constitutional distribution of authority between the Director Supreme and the existing legislature.

O'Higgins's government issued the convocatoria on 7 May 1822. It instructed the municipal councils of provincial and party capitals to elect one representative for the convention. The elected representatives were to receive powers to organize the proposed Court of Representatives and to consider certain governmental proposals concerning public improvements and administrative measures.

Elections

The electoral process took place during May 1822. Because the convocatoria had to reach the individual localities, elections were held on different dates in different municipalities. The municipal councils elected representatives by an absolute majority of votes. The regulation required each representative to be a native or resident of the corresponding locality and established a minimum age of 25 together with a property qualification.

Thirty-two deputies were ultimately elected, including proprietors and substitutes. The elected representatives came from localities throughout the country, including Santiago, Rancagua, San Fernando, Curicó, Talca, Aconcagua, Valparaíso, Quillota, Coquimbo, Concepción, Chillán, Valdivia, Osorno, and Chiloé.

Contemporary records later raised questions about the government's intervention in some of the elections. In December 1822, the governor-intendant of Concepción requested information from local authorities concerning O'Higgins's involvement in the election of deputies. Reports from several localities subsequently addressed allegations of such intervention. These records document controversy over the electoral process, although they do not establish that all of the elections were improperly conducted.

Proceedings

The convention was originally scheduled to begin its sessions on 1 July, but its installation was postponed. It ultimately opened in Santiago on 23 July 1822. Francisco Ruiz-Tagle was elected president, Casimiro Albano Pereira de la Cruz vice president, and Camilo Henríquez secretary. A second secretary's position was subsequently created and filled by José Gabriel Palma.

The convention was initially intended to organize a proposed Court of Representatives. Its mandate also allowed it to consider governmental proposals concerning public improvements and administrative measures. During its existence, however, it assumed broader legislative responsibilities and became the country's effective legislative body.

On 13 September, the convention assumed legislative functions in connection with an amnesty bill proposed by O'Higgins. Its work consequently extended beyond the limited preparatory purpose for which it had originally been elected.

The body functioned from 23 July until 30 October. During this period, its institutional character changed from the Convention Preparatoria to a Legislative Congress and ultimately a Constituent Congress.

Constitution of 1822

The convention's principal task became the preparation of a new constitution. A constitutional project had been prepared under the influence of O'Higgins's government, particularly his minister José Antonio Rodríguez Aldea. The convention subsequently acted as a Constituent Congress in considering and approving the final text.

On 23 October 1822, the Constituent Congress approved the final text of the Constitution of 1822. It established Chile as a representative government with three separate powers: legislative, executive, and judicial.

The constitution introduced a bicameral legislature consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. The Chamber was to have elected members, while the Senate was composed of designated political, religious, judicial, and cultural figures, including former directors supreme, members of the proposed Court of Representatives, and ministers of state.

The constitution also provided for a permanent Court of Representatives to operate during congressional recesses. The convention's work thus represented an attempt to replace the institutional framework of the 1818 Constitution with a more elaborate representative and bicameral system.

O'Higgins promulgated the Constitution on 30 October 1822. It contained 248 articles and included provisions concerning individual rights and equality before the law.

Dissolution

The Constitution of 1822 did not remain in force for long. Political opposition to O'Higgins continued, and he resigned as Supreme Director on 28 January 1823. The constitution ceased to operate on the same date.

The convention therefore did not lead to a stable constitutional settlement. Its brief existence nevertheless marked a transition from the appointed Conservative Senate of 1818 to a sequence of elected and constituent bodies that continued through the 1820s.

Members

The 32 representatives included the following deputies and localities:

The surviving legislative record lists 30 localities in the principal list of representatives reproduced in later historical compilations; the total of 32 members cited by the Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional includes proprietors and substitutes.

See also

• 1812 Chilean parliamentary election
• 1823 Chilean parliamentary election