Rafael de la Presa

Rafael de la Presa Casanueva (3 August 1907 – 28 February 1978) was a Chilean merchant, writer, and politician, member of the Agrarian Labor Party (PAL) and later the National Democratic Party (PADENA).

He served as Deputy for the 8th Departmental Grouping (Melipilla, San Antonio, San Bernardo, and Maipo) for three consecutive legislative terms (1953–1965). He later represented Chile as Ambassador of Chile Portugal between 1965 and 1971, during the administrations of Presidents Eduardo Frei Montalva and Salvador Allende.

Family and education He was born in Melipilla on 3 August 1907, the son of José de la Presa Luege and Visitación Casanueva.

He completed his primary studies at the San Agustín School in Melipilla and secondary education at the German Lyceum of Santiago. He then enrolled in the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, graduating in 1926.

He began his career in commerce, working first for “Casa Huth y Compañía”, and later joined his father in the family firm “Presa Hermanos” in Melipilla. From 1931 onward, he worked independently as a fruit broker in Melipilla and Santiago. He also owned a warehouse and consignment facility in Melipilla, and managed an agricultural estate in Puangue, where he applied his knowledge of agriculture.

Political career A supporter of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, he joined the Agrarian Labor Party (PAL). In the 1953 parliamentary elections, held during Ibáñez’s second presidency, he was elected Deputy for the 8th Departmental Grouping (Melipilla, San Antonio, San Bernardo, and Maipo), serving from 1953 to 1957. He was immediately appointed Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies (26 May 1953 – 25 May 1955), and sat on the Permanent Commission on Public Works.

In 1955, he reported to the Chamber on a constitutional reform project granting Spanish residents in Chile Chilean nationality without losing their own citizenship. The bill became Law No. 12,548.

He traveled to Europe in 1959 to study social and political realities, and was received by Spanish Head of State Francisco Franco at El Pardo Palace on 16 July 1959.

Re-elected in the 1957 elections for the 1957–1961 term, he again served as Vice President of the Chamber (22 May 1957 – 3 February 1959) and joined the Permanent Commission on Mining and Industry.

In the 1961 elections, he was elected for a third consecutive term (1961–1965), serving on the Commissions on Government and Interior and Public Education.

After leaving Congress, he was appointed Ambassador of Chile to Portugal, a position he held until 1971.

Writings Alongside his political career, he authored several works of historical research, including: Los primeros noventa años del Círculo Español, 1880–1970 (1972), Santiago: Editorial Fantasía. Venida y aporte de los españoles a Chile independiente (1978), Santiago: Imprenta Lautaro. Includes the section “Filiación hispánica de los parlamentarios” (1978), pp. 400–686.