Ministerial survival in Chile: Parties, coalitions and presidentialism from 1830 to 1973

Abstract

In line with the literature that considers ministerial rotation as a product of the strategic decisions made by presidents, this paper conducts an in-depth historical study of the determining factors of cabinet changes in Chile. Using mixed techniques that combine the analysis of ministers between 1830 and 1973 with a more exhaustive study of historical moments with high ministerial instability, this article finds that ministerial change in Chile was used as a decompression mechanism by the executive in the midst of transformations of party system. An original database with longitudinal data on ministers in Chile from 1830 to 1973 is used, together with secondary sources and historical archives, to complement the emerging theory of ministerial change in Latin American presidential systems.