November 1947 - Angry at defeat the public turns on President Schnake
Prelude: In the aftermath of the Treaty of Ushuaia major demonstrations have taken place against President Schnake over his handling of the Beagle War, with different political parties, trade unions or even nationalist groups rallying against the government. Initially peaceful strikes across the capital of Santiago soon turned violent and have led to several days of harsh infighting between the police and the rioters, applying enormous pressure on the government as men like General Ibañez grow in prominence as would-be contenders to reach the Presidency - democratically or not - and appear to pose a major challenge to La Moneda.
Determined to carry on and save his government, President Óscar Schnake has asked his Socialist-Radical majority Congress to grant him emergency powers and a prolongued estado de sitio (state of emergency/siege), allowing him to use the army to end the riots, shut down radios or newspapers inciting to such "anti-patriotic" action and generally restore order in the hopes of turning the situation around in time for the 1949 Congressional Elections in 18 months.The President, however, has found himself ambushed at a bitter Cabinet meeting due to the combined opposition of many Radicals - increasingly disaffected with the President - and a faction of the Socialists, both of which have asked Schnake to resign immediately to savage the situation.
Thus the nation is living through complex and uncertain days. Will the President push ahead and use emergency powers to silence his critics for a while? Or will his resignation bring forth a snap Presidential election which is literally impossible to predict?
Congress grants Schnake emergency powers: Riding out the storm, President Schnake silences his critics and manages to rally his cabinet and government in the name of protecting democracy and preventing the rise of General Ibañez or others. Recieving emergency powers from Congress, Schnake could therefore attempt to ban excessively vocal enemies such as the Communist Party, censore major opposition newspapers and radio statious and use the army to end the riots and restore order. Assuming success, he would therefore buy time until the next Congressional elections to find a route to political recovery.
Cabinet forces Schnake to resign: Despite the President's initial intentions, the pressure from the Radicals and the growing numbers of Socialist defectors pushes Schnake into resignation and possibly temporary self-exile. With Minister of the Interior Juan Bautista Rossetti becoming Vice-President for a few months with the mission to restore some order, a Presidential election would have to be held in 60 days by February 1948, presumably reducing the level of public anger into a democratic solution while electing a new President who, at least for his first year, would still have to contend with a PS-PR majority Congress.
Two days.
Poll
