For weeks the head of America’s only Popular Front Government, Chile’s President Pedro (“Don Tinto”) Aguirre Cerda, has been on an uneasy seat in Santiago’s grey, pillared Moneda Palace. Struggling for power have been members of the President’s own Radical Party, Communists, Rightists, Germanophile Army officers.
While the Popular Front swayed, bushy-mustached President Aguirre felt more & more like a man who does not govern but merely presides. He spent more & more time with the red wine he cultivates. Fort night ago he was reported ill.
This week his journalistic enemy, El Imparcial, called for a medical bulletin to allay “public anxiety.” Don Tinto issued a political bulletin. He announced his temporary retirement on account of bronchitis and grippe, by law turned over his powers to Minister of the Interior Méndez.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The New Face of Doctor Who
- Putin’s Enemies Are Struggling to Unite
- Women Say They Were Pressured Into Long-Term Birth Control
- Scientists Are Finding Out Just How Toxic Your Stuff Is
- Boredom Makes Us Human
- John Mulaney Has What Late Night Needs
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com