Chile

1 Chapter Basic knowledge

    • Basic knowledge

      Official Name: Republic of Chile, “República de Chile”.

       
      ■National Flag
       
       

      ■National Land/ Area:

      Located at the Southern part of South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru .The total area of the country is 756,102 sq. km, 743,812 sq. km of land and 12,290 sq. km of water, this measures include Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez. The total amount of land boundaries are 7,801 km, and 6,435 km of coastline.

       

       

       

      ■Capital.

       

      The capital is Santiago de Chile, is the largest, the native communities settled in the region around the year 800. Agriculture developed among the small tribes that sometimes clashed and did not have a stable political organization. It was in 1541 that Pedro de Valdivia founded the city that called it" "Santiago del Nuevo Extremo".Currently, the city is the political and administrative center of Chile, the executive and judicial branch have their offices here.

       

       

       

      ■Climate.

       

      The climate is temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in the south. The country has low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, and the steep Andes in the east.

       

       

       

      ■Time Difference.

       

      CLT for Chile Standard Time, there is daylight saving, Belgium is 6 hours ahead, China is 12 hours ahead, and Tokyo, Japan is 13 hours ahead of Santiago, Chile

       

       

       

      ■Population.

       

      The population growth rate is 0.75%, and birth rates are 13.4 births/1,000 population and death rate is 6.3 deaths/1,000 population. The 90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north located near the Atacama Desert and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated.

       

       

       

       

       

      Last 10 years Population Comparison.

       

       

       

      ■Ethnicity.

       

      The percentage of white and non-indigenous people is 88.9%, Mapuche 9.1%, Aymara 0.7%, other indigenous groups 1%, this includes Rapa Nui, Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Kawesqar, Yagan or Yamana), and lastly there is a 0.3% unspecified.

       

       

       

      ■Language.

       

      Spanish is the official language with  99.5%, English 10.2%, indigenous 1%, this includes Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui, other 2.3%, and unspecified 0.2%.

       

       

       

      ■Currency.

       

      The Peso is the country’s currency, CLP, “Peso Chileno”.

       

       

       

       

       

      ■Religion.

       

      Roman Catholic is 66.7%, Evangelical or Protestant is 16.4%, Jehovah's Witness is 1%, other 3.4%, none 11.5%, and unspecified 1.1%.

       

       

       

      ■Political System

       

      Chile has a republican, democratic and representative political system, with a presidential government. The State is divided into three independent powers:

       

       

       

      Executive Branch: it is under the power of the president who is elected by popular and direct suffrage, for periods of 4 years, without the right to re-election. The president is both chief of state and head of government. The president now is Sebastian PINERA Echenique since 11 March 2018.

       

      Legislative Branch: The legislative power resides in the National Congress with headquarters in the port of Valparaíso. It has supervisory and co-legislative powers and is bicameral, with a Senate of 38 members and a Chamber of Deputies with 120 members.

       

      Judicial Branch: It is an independent and autonomous body that has the responsibility to administer justice, the superior court is the Supreme Court, composed of 21 members, one of them is elected president every three years. Other parts of the Judicial branch are the Constitutional Court consists of 10 members and the Elections Qualifying Court that consists of 5 members. Subordinate courts are the Courts of Appeal; oral criminal tribunals; military tribunals; local police courts; specialized tribunals and courts in matters such as family, labor, customs, taxes, and electoral affairs.

       

       

       

      ■Main History.

       

       

       

      Pre-Columbian Era.

       

      At the time of the conquest almost 500, 000 Indians inhabited the region, scattered in tribes with no central governmental organization, at the north they lived by fishing and  farming, others engaged in hunting, gathering, even ritual cannibalism, etc. Civilization influenced the area, the first was from the Chincha and the Quechua, who were part of the Inca empire.

       

       

       

      Conquest of Chile

       

      The conquest began in 1536, when forces under Diego de Almargo invaded the region looking for another Peru, but he didn't find gold or a civilization, the Spanish conquerors decided to go back to Peru. Other expeditions followed him from Hernando Magallanes and Pedro de Valdivia. In the conquest the territory was explored and exploited by “encomiendas” commissions of Indians and land grants. Cities were founded, but there were also wars against the Indians who did not want to be subdued. Pedro de Valdivia got permission to conquer and colonize the area, he traveled in 1540 with about 150 companions, including his mistress, Inés Suárez, the only Spanish woman in the company. He founded the city of Santiago. For the next two decades the settlers lived a precarious existence, with constant wars.

       

       

       

      Colonial Period.

       

      Since there was a lack of metal the area was unattractive for the Spaniards, early settlers set their attention to agriculture and grew a variety of cereals, vegetables and fruits, they raised livestock and consumed nearly everything locally due to the poverty of the colony. At the end of the 16th century there were no more than 5,000 Spaniards in the region.  Chile was considered to be a deficit area for the Spanish Crown, because maintaining the official un Santiago and the Army on the Araucanian frontier needed an annual subsidy from the crown. And since this colony was poor only mediocre officials were sent there, the same administrative and religious system was implanted there, there was a big influence from the Catholic Church, the education was provided by the church.

       

      In Chile there was miscegenation as in the other colonies, this process is the forced or voluntary interrelation between two or more cultures, in the case of Chile it was between indigenous people and Spaniards. The society was highly structured in the Colonial period, with peninsulares at the top, followed by Creoles, mestizos, Indians, and African slaves. At the end of the colonial period, the vast majority of the population was concentrated in the Aconcagua Valley and the Central Valley, extending from the city of Santiago to Concepción, which together form “the cradle of Chilean nationality.”  The intellectual life in Chile developed slowly, the colony did not have a printing press until shortly before it won independence from Spain in 1818, and the paucity of contacts with the outside world reinforced its insularity.

       

       

       

      Independence

       

      The Independence in Chile had many external causes, such as the influence of revolutionary ideas, illustration and Liberalism, the invasion of Spain by Napoleon and the opposition of the Creoles to Napoleon to form boards of Government. The internal causes were mainly the Creole discontent, the nationalist sentiment of the Creoles and finally the internal disputes over positions in the Government. The movement started on September 18, 1810, when a open town meeting in Santiago, attended by representatives of privileged groups whose vaguely defined objectives included a change in administration, accepted the resignation of the President-Governor and in his place elected a junta composed of local leaders. From 1810 to 1813 the course of the patriots was relatively peaceful because they were able to maintain themselves without formal ties to the Viceroyalty of Lima. Trade restrictions were relaxed, steps were taken toward the eventual abolition of slavery, a newspaper was established to publicize the beliefs of the patriots, and education was promoted, including the founding of the National Institute. However , the Creoles were divided over how far the colony should go toward self-government. Meanwhile, Spain had taken steps to reassert its control over the colony. At the Battle of Rancagua, on October 1 and 2, 1814, it re-established its military supremacy and ended what has been called la “patria vieja”. Many of those who remained in Chile suffered from the harsh rule of Spain’s inept representatives and became convinced that absolute independence was necessary. The Independence was possible with O’Higgins,  in January 1817 San Martín’s well-drilled army, with O’Higgins as one of its commanders, began its march across the Andes, and on February 12, 1817, the patriot forces defeated the royalists on the hill of Chacabuco, which opened the way to Santiago.  O’Higgins was proclaimed supreme director of Chile,  the decisive defeat of Spain came until the Battle of Maipú, on April 5, 1818.

       

       

       

      The organization of the Republic.

       

       

       

      The organization of the republic had three stages:

       

      1- Government of O'Higgins of 1818-1823: Constitutional projects were directed to establish a power concentration in the hands of the supreme director. It opened new colleges and ordered the abolition of titles of nobility.

       

      2-Process of instability and political learning 1824-1830: There were seven years of experiments and political trials that showed differences on how to govern the country, where the conservatives opposed the liberal currents. There were armed confrontations at this time.

       

      3-Portalian solution 1830-1833: The constitution of 1833 was created where power was granted to the executive, with powers to appoint mayors, governors and mayors, a state of siege was established, public and private freedoms were restricted. The voting system was census, citizens should have certain salary requirements to participate in political life.

       

       

       

      During the next 30 years, Chile established its own definitive organization, made possible by a compromise among the members of the oligarchy. Political stability and economic prosperity opened the way to modernization: the construction of the first railroads began, new roads were opened, and the harbors were improved. The government tried also to develop education, though largely for upper-class children. The University of Chile was founded, and foreign scholars were recruited to foster geologic, botanical, and economic studies. The increase of wealth that especially favored the oligarchy and foreign merchants also contributed to a diversification of the ruling class; the development of mining production in the north and of agriculture in the south created new fortunes, whose owners soon made their entry into the political world.  

       

       

       

      Liberal Influence 1861-1891.

       

      A new development among younger members of the traditional oligarchy was the growth of liberalism and the appearance of political clubs around the middle of the century. The oligarchy was divided into two groups: conservatives, who defended the traditional privileges of the church; and nationalists, who maintained the supremacy of the state. The fight to secularize the state opened the country to European influences in cultural activities and civil reforms. The British began to invest directly in Chile, supplying the capital needed to bring about the construction of railroads and the modernization of ports and public services. The increase of imports and the payment of interest from loans aggravated an already weak balance of payments and resulted in a continuing devaluation of the Chilean peso in relation to the British pound sterling. This led to the War of the Pacific (1879–83) that weakened Chilean finances.

       

       

       

      XX century.

       

       

       

      At the beginning of the century there was a great exploitation of copper and decay of saltpeter when synthetic nitrate was discovered, the world depression in 1929 made it difficult for Chile’s economy because the international demand and the prices for saltpetre and copper dropped. Chile was forced to reduce imports, which in turn reduced national production. Incomes diminished, while public expenditures grew. The middle class became a broad and powerful social group struggling to achieve political power. The constitution of 1925 reestablishes the authority of the president and the Church of the State is separated, the right to vote is granted to the woman.

       

       

       

      The presidency of Gabriel González Videla, from 1946 to 1952.

       

      When he started he was part of the Radical Party, with a Communists cabinet, between 1946 and 1948. But the international Cold War and Chile’s internal troubles soon pushed González Videla toward the right, after 1948 he ruled with the support of the Liberal Party.

       

      Economic links with the United States grew after the crisis of 1929 and increased with World War II.

       

       

       

      New parties and political groups emerged, popular discontent helped revive the Marxist-inspired Socialist and Communist parties and produced an electoral loss of the parties of the right that corresponded with the rise of those of the left.

       

       

       

      The presidency of Frei Montalva.

       

      Frei’s program was “Revolution in Liberty,” promised a series of reforms for developing the country by raising the incomes of the lower classes.  instituted a program of “Chileanization,” by which the state took control of copper, Chile’s principal resource, acquiring 51 percent of the shares of the large U.S. copper companies in Chile. CORFO is created, organism that promotes the industry and national production. In 1967, with the support of the Socialist and Communist parties, an agrarian reform law was approved that enabled the government to expropriate uncultivated land and to limit the land that could be conserved by each owner. By 1970 about 5,000,000 acres had been expropriated.

       

      Frei´s government gave an increase in the political participation from the Communist and Socialist parties but also of some of the Radicals and Christian Democrats. This led to Salvador Allende Gossens being elected president in 1970, he was a Marxist and Socialist. He wanted to turn Chile in to a socialist country, his plan consisted in ending of domination of mining and finance by foreign capital, expanding the agrarian reform, and have more equal distribution of income for the poorer classes.

       

       

       

      The Military Dictatorship.

       

      On September 11, 1973 the military dictatorship started when the armed forces staged a coup d’état. Allende died during an assault on the presidential palace, and a junta composed of three generals and an admiral, with Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte as president, was installed. This dictatorship received the support of the oligarchy and of a sizable part of the middle class, the Christian Democratic, National, and Radical Democracy parties were declared to be in indefinite recess,  and the Communists, Socialists, and Radicals were proscribed. In 1977 the traditional parties were dissolved, and a private enterprise economy was introduced. The policies of the military government, encouraged the development of free enterprise and a new entrepreneurial class, but caused as well, unemployment, a decline on real wages, and, worse standard of living for the lower and middle classes.

       

       

       

      In 1980, a new constitution was enacted, the document included specific provisions for a transition to civilian government over the same eight-year period and mandated that a referendum be held in 1988 on whether the ruling junta’s president was to remain in office. In August 1984, 11 parties of the right and center signed an accord, calling for elections to be scheduled before 1989. There was external pressure from the United States and other countries due to numerous reports of human rights violations under Pinochet's regime.

       

       

       

      The first elections were in 1989, Patricio Aylwin Azócar won and during his period, supported Chile’s free-market system but also emphasized social and political change. The year 1990 is considered the year of the return to democracy, since Aylwin supported free market.

       

      Pinochet, before leaving the presidency, appointed several new Supreme Court justices and claimed a lifetime senatorial seat; he also retained significant power as commander of the armed forces until his retirement from the military in 1998. Pinochet was detained in London that year, when Spain requested his extradition due to the torture of Spanish citizens during his dictatorship. many documents were released about people who disappeared in this period, Pinochet applied for an appeal on medical grounds and returned to Chile,  was indicted a year later but the case was dismissed.

       

       

       

      Chile in the 21st century.

       

      Democratic systems continued to strengthen in Chile in the 21st century, and in 2000 Ricardo Lagos was elected the country’s first socialist president since Allende, under his administration the economy improved and numerous social reforms were enacted. After his mandate another socialist was elected, Michelle Bachelet, she became the first female president of Chile. Bachelet was faced with massive protests staged by students who were dissatisfied with Chile’s public education and with strikes by copper miners and health workers. Bachelet was ineligible to serve a consecutive second term due to the constitution. Piñera won the presidency after her and was the first conservative to be elected president since the end of Pinochet’s rule.

       

      Bachelet won the presidency again in 2014 and became the first two-time president of Chile since the end of the Pinochet regime. Early in her term Bachelet oversaw a number of legislative successes, including tax and education reform.

       

      On her new mandate the Chilean economy, which had been one of the fastest growing in Latin America during the first decade of the 21st century, slowed dramatically. By 2016, largely as a result of declining world copper prices, GDP growth in Chile fell to 1.6 %, down from 6.1% in 2011, according to the World Bank. The economy and the ongoing political scandals were among the prominent issues when Chilean voters went to the polls for national elections in November 2017. In the year 2018, Sebastián Piñera assumes for the second time the mandate of the presidency.

       

       

       

      ■Education.

       

      Education is managed by the Ministry of Education, and education must be guaranteed at all levels and modalities from 5 to 17 years and is structured in four stages:

       

      1) Preschool: It is aimed at children between six months and six years but only the last course is mandatory.

       

      2) Basic: From 6 to 13 years and is divided into two cycles of years each.

       

      3) Middle: It has a duration of four courses from 14 to 17 years. It is possible to opt for the scientific-humanist way that is oriented to the university access or the technical-professional one that prepares the students for the labor market.

       

      4) Superior: It is optional and paid and is taught in professional institutes, technical training centers and universities. The university education is divided into high school graduates, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctorates.

       

    • References

       

      The world Factbook, Chile, Central Intelligence Agency, 2019

      https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html

       

      Current Local Time in Santiago, Chile, time and date, 2019.

      https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/chile/santiago

       

      Chile map of Köppen climate classification. Wikipedia, 2019.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Chile#/media/File:Chile_K%C3%B6ppen.png

       

      Chile Population, Trading Economics, 2019

      https://tradingeconomics.com/chile/population

       

      Chile, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019.

      https://www.britannica.com/place/Chile

       

      Sistema Político, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, August, 3rd, 2017.

      https://chile.gob.cl/chile/sistema-politico

       

      Estudiar en Chile, Estructura del Sistema Educativo Chile, Universia 2019.

      http://www.universia.es/estudiar-extranjero/chile/sistema-educativo/estructura-sistema-educativo/3196