The Army of the North marches not to Chile's defence, but to her subjugation. If General Roseno was concerned with upholding the defence of the Republic, he would be doing his duty and maintaining the army on our borders to defend us from enemies, not bringing it to bear in a political dispute. Indeed, if General Roseno was truly as non-partisan and independent as he boasts, then he would not intervene in what is clearly a police action and not a manoeuvre against the integrity or security of the Republic. But he is not loyal to the Republic; he is loyal only to his master, and now rushes to his aid against the democratic wishes of the people. You have made the Army of the North a tool of your political ambitions, not an instrument of the Republic.
For many years, General Roseno, I stood up for you. In every election, I supported your bid for Chief of Staff. I rejected allegations that you were unreliable due to your background and fiercely fought your defence in Congreso. When others decried you as an opportunist who would swiftly fall back into old habits the moment it became convenient, I dismissed them. I see now that I was as mistaken in my support for yourself as I was in my support for Andonie. You are every inch your father: a tinpot, tyrannous thug with nothing but an army to your credit. You abandon the Republic that gave you leniency to align yourself to another tyrant. You forego principle and decency to serve your personal interests. You are a disgrace to Chile, and a credit to Cesar Roseno.
The tyrant's supporters and sycophants emerge from their master's pockets and condemn me as power-hungry. They say I seek only the presidency for myself; they say that I am simply a disgruntled reactionary, trying to seize power for the Nacionales. Most absurdly of all, they accuse myself of being selfish and putting my personal interests above the interests of the Republic. Yet all I have done, I have done in her name and for her defence. It was Senor Andonie who pushed the Republic to crisis; it is Senor Andonie who would sooner see Chileans die than lose his throne. I have asked for no reward, and shall receive none. Senor Rivera shall become the Provisional President, as is legal under the constitution: not myself. He shall head the new government: not myself. I have asked for no concessions to the Nacionales, because I demand none. I am above partisan politics now. I desire only the downfall of a tyrant and the restoration of democracy to the Republic - a point which is utterly lost on my opponents, who can only view politics through the narrow prism of their own self-interest.
But I see now that I am the only one willing to take action, when I am clearly not the only one who sees that Andonie has seized power by illicit means. I see now that the statesmen of Chile would sooner sacrifice their integrity, their honour and their loyalty to the Republic than estrange themselves from a dictator in democratic garb. I have only one thing to say to you, señores: I once was like you, happy to suppress what I thought was right in the name of advancing my political career. Senor Andonie will not reward you for your support any more than he rewarded me. If at any point you pose a threat to his power, he will strike you down just as he did with myself, and with as little hesitation. Only then will you realise that loyalty is meaningless when it is to a demagogue; loyalty is only of intrinsic value when it is to the Republic.
Now, I stand alone, while the traitor calls for his army to occupy our own capital. Shall I flee, like Pompey, and let the tyrant seize Rome? Never. Rather, I shall stand as Mark Anthony did, to my last breath. I shall not surrender the people to the whims of a traitor. I shall not deliver Chile into the hands of a treacherous Cataline. I shall fight as Santandera did, when all his cabinet colleagues turned against him and the tyrant brought his armies to bear on Santiago. I shall never cease my fight until Senor Andonie is deposed or I am dead - and if the latter is the price for the former, then I will gladly pay it tenfold.
¡Abajo los tiranos!
- V. Severino
