After Mateo de Toro y Zambrano took over as Royal Governor, he was convinced to call an open meeting of the leading citizens of the city to decide the political future of the colony. He convened such a meeting for the morning of September 18, 1810. The discussion ended with the conformation of the First Government Junta of Chile, of which Bishop Martínez de Aldunate was voted the Vice President. His death in Santiago, less than a year later (he was already 79 years old) precluded him from taking a larger role in the independence of Chile.