The Provincial Assembly of Santiago was the provincial legislature of the former Province of Santiago of Chile, established in 1823 and confirmed by virtue of the Federal Laws of 1826. It existed, with interruptions, until 1833.
The first conformation of the Provincial Assembly of Santiago was convened on 27 February 1823, by the Board of Deputies of Santiago (Junta de Diputados de Santiago). The assembly was formally installed on 29 March 1823. During its session on 2 April, it was officially granted the title of Provincial Congress of Santiago (Congreso Provincial de Santiago). This initial assembly had a very brief existence, closing its sessions the following day on 3 April 1823.
The assembly's leadership consisted of Domingo Eyzaguirre, deputy for Santiago, who assumed the presidency, and José Manuel Barros, who served as vice president. Juan Egaña represented the assembly before the Congress of 1823.
The proprietary deputies (diputados propietarios) who made up this short-lived assembly included:
According to the historian Isidoro Errázuriz, the provincial assemblies of this periodâÂÂspecifically the one active in 1825âÂÂrepresented a unique exception in Chilean parliamentary history. Errázuriz notes that while the assembly did not have a character of national representation, it was distinguished by its willingness to challenge the executive power and "trample upon its privileges" (atropella los fueros del Ejecutivo). He describes the assembly's firm stance as a "testimony of honor" and a promise for the future consolidation of legal institutions and the rule of law in Chile, contrasting its legislative dignity with the authoritarian tendencies of the era.
By 1827, the Provincial Assembly of Santiago had become a central figure in the opposition to the implementation of a federalist system in Chile, with the enactment of the Federal Laws of 1826. According to historian Claude Gay, the assembly functioned as the "expression of the Chilean aristocracy" and remained a declared enemy of federalism, viewing the proposed laws regarding provincial attributes and popular elections as a threat to national unity. On 15 March 1827, the Assembly issued formal instructions to its deputies, urging them not to participate in the federalist project or the enactment of its laws, holding them responsible for any disruption to the fundamental principles of the country. When the Congress responded to these instructions with a "disdainful and arrogant" tone, claiming it would act according to its own high faculties, the Assembly retorted that while it would submit to a government that deserved acceptance, it reserved the right to dictate imperative instructions to its deputies when the pact between the Congress and the nation was on the verge of being violated. As a result of this conflict, several deputies abstained from attending the Chamber.