The Liberal/Conservative Divide In The 19th Century

The liberal/conservative divide in the 19th century was the cause of various differences among diverse aspects of Latin American countries of the era. These disputes can be easily viewed when observing the histories of Latin American countries such as Chile and Guatemala. Throughout the 19th century these Latin American countries experienced a constant power struggle between the two political ideologies. As one rises, another falls, and the latter seeks to regain the lost power. Liberals were characterized by a very modernized ideology. They put their beliefs in science rather than in the Catholic church. The main tenets of liberals favored minimal government intervention, individual freedom, education, and economic progress. Subsequently
Unlike the liberals, conservatives were extremely pro-Catholic, and sought to maintain the power of the Catholic church in government, with little interaction with the state. Additionally they sought to keep the domestic economy healthy, yet opposed foreign trade, as contact with foreigners would transfer modern ideas that conflicted with the conservatives’ goals. Further, most conservatives were wealthy landowners, so their wealth was largely based on the success of domestic business. Conservatives believed in a strong military, central government, and while they did not necessarily favor the indigenous peoples, they benefitted from the cheap labor that they provided (Navia, 2015). Thus, in many ways, the conservatives could be described as the political opposite to the liberal
Similar to what is seen with Guatemala, there is a pattern where the death of a leader of one party initiates the rule of another with the opposite ideology. Bernardo O'Higgins gained dictatorship in Chile after Chilean independence was established in 1810. While O’Higgins was in power, he implemented various Liberal policies, which included the elimination of titles of nobility, and the attempt to establish democracy. As a result, he was very unpopular among the wealthy landowners and thus resigned in 1823 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015). Afterwards came the conservative, Ramón Freire, who sought to bring back conservative ideology in Chile. Subsequently he designed the Constitution of 1833, which forbade all religions other than the Catholic faith (Political constitution of the Republic of Chile, 1833). The Constitution of 1833 also sought to solidify an authoritarian rule over Chile, which did not sit well with Chilean liberals at all. However, as the Constitution of 1833 granted multiple re-elections, the elections were also rigged so that conservatives gained power numerous times. Therefore this caused liberals to revolt multiple times, resulting in the rise of the liberals again in the 1860’s (Navia, 2015). At this time, the separation of the Catholic church and the government became a reality, and most liberal tenets were adopted into