My fellow Chileans,
It has been a long time since I graced the halls of Congreso, and I feel I offer an explanation.
From the day I ordered the evacuation of my government to Panama, it had been my intention to return one day and rescue Chile - first from communist tyranny, and then from fascist dictatorship. But I would never see the day. When the Americans seized Panama, despite the valiant defence offered by the late General Rivera, it seemed that God himself had conspired against the Republic. I left behind Chile, and never looked back. Even when the autocracy fell and the republic was restored, I was not tempted to return. Politics had purged me of all happiness; I had no stomach to suffer again. Like the great José de San Martín, I intended to separate myself from the internecine quarrels of my homeland and embrace peaceful retirement.
But, being now over one hundred years of age, I am fast approaching the end of my life. I have returned to spend my last days on my native soil. I must admit to having mixed feelings upon my arrival. When I heard of the Marxist revolution, it seemed my life had come full circle. The more years that pass in Chile, the more she stays the same. Yet unlike that infamous year of 1898, the forces of republicanism prevailed without recourse to autocracy. Perhaps there is hope for our great nation, as she advances into the latter half of a new century.
During my time, I have been both witness and participant of the multitudinous contradictions that make up our society. I have been both champion of the people and pariah, universally popular and universally loathed. I have been conspirator and conspiracy victim. I have been honest and duplicitous, altruist and authoritarian, servant of the people and slave-driver. I have been by turns ruler and ruled, oppressor and oppressed. I have seen three sovereign states simultaneously lay claim to Chile. I have suffered by acts of betrayal, and been strengthened by acts of courage and decency. I have seen men lie to themselves and the people to further their own ambitions, and men remain true to their principles even in the face of death and disenfranchisement. But above all, I have seen why despite all these hardships and indignities - despite all the suffering rained upon Chile, the violence visited on her cities, the blood that has spilled through her streets - the Fatherland has survived and persevered. And that is because of its people. Chile shall never suffer subjugation, no matter how high the cost of resistance might prove. She fought for independence from Spain; she fought for democracy under Roseno; she fought for freedom under the Fascistas; and in each and every instance, she has been victorious.
So I offer my congratulations to President Farìas and wish him well. May his term be peaceful and prosperous, and so set a precedent for the future of our great society. Since the reign of Cesar Roseno, we have lived under the shadow of the Andes, imprisoned within our own homeland. Perhaps President Farìas shall finally lead our nation back into the light.
- Charles Maximilien de Conti, former President of the Third Republic