Army and conjunture: military action in the Valdivia’s earthquake 1960

Abstract

This paper analyzes the military action response of the Chilean Army during and after the Earthquake of Valdivia of May 21th, 1960 and their impact on the armed institution and civil-military relations. After the strong earthquake, the government of Jorge Alessandri decreed “Emergency Zone” and authorizing the direct deployment of the army, under General Alfonso Cañas Ruiz-Tagle, who led the search and evacuation of the civilian population and Lake containment mainly Riñihue until the end of this year. The action of the Army in the midst of this catastrophe meant three relevant points: a) he restored the importance of the institution in response to disasters, just at a time of questioning its usefulness in the country; b) It allowed management to use the Army to shift work social development. In sum, despite prove useful in the atomic age the Chilean Army continued with a limited budget that prevented their material modernization and socio-economic assistance.