Jaime Larraín García-Moreno

Jaime Larraín García-Moreno (23 March 1896 – 26 September 1975) was a Chilean lawyer, agronomist, businessman and parliamentarian. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies between 1921 and 1924, and later as a senator of the Republic representing the 8th Provincial Group (Biobío, Malleco and Cautín) between 1945 and 1957.

Biography Larraín García-Moreno was born in Paris, France, the son of former deputy Raimundo Larraín Covarrubias and Ana Luisa García-Moreno Flores. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Instituto de Humanidades Luis Campino in Santiago. He studied law at the University of Chile and agronomy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he served as vice president of the Agronomy Students’ Association.

In 1917, he married Elena Valdés Morandé, with whom he had seven children, including Elena Larraín Valdés, a noted anti-communist political activist, and Raimundo Larraín Valdés, a prominent socialite in France.

Professional career Larraín García-Moreno was an agricultural entrepreneur, managing the Esmeralda estate in the commune of Rosario. He was a partner in the firm Larraín García-Moreno Hermanos.

He was deeply involved in Catholic social and guild-based organizations. He served as president of the Conferences of Saint Vincent de Paul in 1916 and founded the Círculo de Estudios in 1913 under the guidance of Father Fernando Vives Solar, later serving as its president. He collaborated in the creation of Catholic trade unions and the organization of employer guilds inspired by social Christian thought.

He was a member of the National Association of Catholic Students and adhered to corporatist and organicist ideas, promoting guild-based and industrial institutions.

In 1925, he was elected councillor of the National Society of Agriculture (SNA), becoming its vice president in 1930 and president between 1933 and 1940. He was also president of the Santiago Congress of Agriculturalists in 1939, a founding president of the Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC) between 1934 and 1935, and a director of the Central Bank of Chile.

He was a member of the Academy of Economic Sciences of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the Club de la Unión. He received the French Order of Agricultural Merit.

Political career Larraín García-Moreno began his political activity in the youth wing of the Conservative Party, though he later distanced himself under the influence of social Christian ideas. He subsequently aligned with agrarian-labour movements, joining the Agrarian Labor Party (PAL), the National Party, and later the National Popular Party.

He was elected deputy for Valparaíso and Casablanca for the 1921–1924 legislative period. During his term, he served on the Standing Committee on Social Legislation but resigned, arguing that the drafting of labour legislation had adopted a Marxist orientation.

In 1945, he was elected senator in a by-election to complete the 1941–1949 term, replacing the late senator Darío Barrueto Molinet. He assumed office on 10 April 1945 and served on the Standing Committees on Government and on Labour and Social Welfare.

He was re-elected in 1949 for the 1949–1957 period, participating in several joint budgetary and special boundary commissions. He promoted legislation that became law, including statutes authorizing the erection of a monument to Arturo Alessandri Palma and public works in Temuco.

He opposed the presidential candidacy of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in 1952, leading to a split within the agrarian-labour movement. His later political activity included participation in the National Agrarian Party and the National Popular Party, which marked his final political affiliation.