This article analyzes the political conflict that arose in a colonial village in central Chile towards the end of the 18th century as a result of the application of the Royal Order of Intendants of 1786. Indeed, the designation of Martín de la Vega Quiroga as subdelegate of the town of San José de Logroño de Melipilla (1794-1798), caused strong questioning among the local elite, which increased throughout his administration. For the village’s Procurador General, Vicente Vargas, who represented the opinions of the neighbors, he was a subject alien to the community, who abused the power that had been conferred upon him and who used the position for his personal enrichment and that of his close friends. These tensions and conflicts show that the application of the Bourbon reforms was resisted by the local elites, who saw them as an interference in matters that they considered to be within their competence, while at the same time introducing subjects into the community that altered the traditional structures of power.