A congressional secretary-general’s death was followed by his brother taking the same office. The succession points to factionalism and the concentration of political authority within particular families. The constitutional side therefore did not represent an ideal or flawless system. Reforming an imperfect political order still required care because breaking its institutions could not guarantee a better replacement.
Notable Point · 1:13:03-1:13:55
Family networks and imperfect institutions in the civil war
The congressional junta’s reliance on family succession illustrates that constitutional resistance to Balmaceda did not make its own political system free of faction or concentrated power.