The invention of the myth of Diego Portales: Death and funeral rites in the chilean republican tradition
The invention of the myth of Diego Portales: Death and funeral rites in the chilean republican tradition
Authors
Arellano González, Juan
Authors
Date
2012-02-05
Datos de publicación:
10.4067/S0718-04622011000100008
Keywords
Diego Portales - Tradición republicana - Funerales
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Abstract
Diego Portales has become a true legend of Chilean political history, a controversial figure who has prompted very differentki nds of interpretation. The aim of this article is to analyze the origin of his political myth. We will study the final phase of the minister's political activities in 1837 from the perspective of Machiavelli's The Prince. By means of the Florentine philosopher's modern political theory, we may explain the circumstances which surrounded the death of Portales. A look at Portales's funeral reveals that it responded to a need to create a republican tradition at the time of the birth of the Hispano-American nations.