The 1836 Conventions
The 1836 Conventions were watched closely by the political elites. The Liberales nomination was never in question. Michael Badajoz, a pro-war political reformist, enjoyed the unanimous support of the partido and ran an unopposed campaign. Declaring oneself a liberal in the wake of the civil war of the last decade was a courageous act in Chilean politics, as the liberals had been the losing party. Still, the 1836 election saw their return into politics behind the Badajoz as a patriot, and though they knew they were sorely outnumbered, Badajoz was nominated with much fanfare at their small convention in the fall.
The Conservadores' convention was much less unified and much less certain. The original 3-man race between the more right-wing Francisco Rivera, the moderate Eduardo Romano, and the sitting Colonel Manuel Carrera quickly became a two-man race as Carrera dropped out, throwing his support to Rivera. This surprise move shocked many outside analysts, who had seen Carrera as a shoe-in to carry the influential military's support and by extension the nomination. Those more in the know muttered that whatever had come between him and Prieto must have hamstrung him from the start. The endorsement was seen to make Rivera a shoe-in until Armando de Vasces, the influential Mayor of Maipu, renounced Rivera and endorsed Romano, reversing the tide yet again.
From that point onwards, Rivera and Romano were neck-and-neck, often tied in delegate supporters. Romano's camp believed Rivera to be too willing to spend excessively on the military, to the point that they feared it would stunt the growth of the nation. Rivera claimed that Romano was the weaker candidate and willing to sell the country to foreigners and mining interests while leaving them unprepared for war. The militarists and the moderates were evenly matched right to the doors of the convention center. The nation seemed to hold its breath as the candidates campaigned and the delegates drew to the capital for the final vote.
The grueling three-day session in a Santiago convention center saw tied ballot after tied ballot as arguments and even threats were thrown back and forth to no avail. The militarists became disgruntled and many threatened to split the party, to walk out of the center and run their own candidate for President. After twenty ballots and no sign of a clear winner, the threat of a split became more and more real.
The stalemate was broken in the eleventh hour by the defection of Eduardo Silvia, an influential general, from Romano to Rivera's camp. The switch left Romano reeling and before he could scramble to regain support, a handful of delegates from the militarist camps in Southern Chile, who had previously been delayed by seasonal rains and snow, arrived to declare their allegiance to Rivera as well. The additional support gave Rivera the clear majority he needed to claim the nomination.
Only a few miles away, the Liberales rejoiced at the news, believing they could claim the conservative-moderate vote and take the presidency themselves. Time would tell.
Meanwhile, in the Congreso, the matter of the Alliance with Paraguay was put to a vote. A vigorous debate followed, with those in favor claiming that Paraguay could strengthen Chile's position in the region and aid in the war to come with Bolivia, while those against asserted that they were more a liability than an asset. The Alliance enjoyed broader support than some had speculated, but was eventually voted down by the Congreso, which could see no point in allying with one of the weakest nations in South America.
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Player Actions Needed:
Badajoz and atomicsoda, I need your platforms! The Presidential election starts as soon as you get them in, so don't plod around it. If I don't get them by this time tomorrow, we start regardless.
Pallen, I still need your compromise bill if you want it on the ballot.
)) I believe that this issue will be resolved once we have a self-sustaining economy with a strong military. I voted yay on the Peru-Bolivia Act, because we need a strong military if Chile is to survive the storm gathering on the horizon."
