About Chile
Geography
Chile, bordered by Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, is very tightly confined between sea and mountains with only 20% plain land. From the desert north to the Antarctic south, Chile has a wonderful multiplicity of climates. The north with its dramatic drop in temperature from day to night is also the driest place on earth. The centre of Chile is known for its distinctive seasons and the south, for the amount of rain, cold wind and snow. It is also well known for its polar climate with no vegetation, its frozen sea and temperatures which are always below 0℃.
About Chile
Government and Constitution
Chile is a Republic. The central government is situated in Santiago. The current President is Michelle Bachalet who is Chile's first Female President.
A brief history
Why we need your help
In 1970, Salvador Allende became the first president in a non-Communist country freely elected on a Marxist program. In Sept. 1973, Allende was overthrown and killed in a military coup covertly sponsored by the CIA, ending a 46-year era of constitutional government in Chile.
The coup was led by a four-man junta headed by Army Chief of Staff Augusto Pinochet, who eventually assumed the office of president. Committed to "exterminating Marxism," the junta suspended parliament, banned political activity, and severely curbed civil liberties. Pinochet's dictatorship led to the imprisonment, torture, disappearances, execution, and expulsion of thousands of Chileans. A government report in 2004 indicated that almost 28,000 people had been tortured during his rule, and that at least 3,200 murders and disappearances had taken place.
The economy, in tatters under Allende's Socialist revolution, gradually improved after Chile's return to privatization under Pinochet. In 1989, Pinochet lost a plebiscite on whether he should remain in power. He stepped down in Jan 1990 in favour of Patricio Aylwin.
In Oct. 1998, he was arrested and detained in England on an extradition request issued by a Spanish judge who sought Pinochet in connection with the disappearances of Spanish citizens during his rule. British courts ultimately denied his extradition, and Pinochet returned to Chile in March 2000. He died in Dec. 2006 at age 91, before facing trial for the abuses of his 17-year dictatorship.
Ricardo Lagos became president in March 2000, the first Socialist to run the country since Allende. Chile's economic growth slowed to 3% for 2001, partly the result of a drop in international copper prices and the economic turmoil in neighbouring Argentina.
In 2006 presidential elections, Socialist Michelle Bachelet won 53% of the vote. She is a survivor of the Pinochet dictatorship, which was responsible for her father's death and subjected her to prison, torture, and exile. Bachelet took office on March 11, becoming Chile's first female chief of state. She promised to continue Chile's successful economic policies while increasing social spending. Her first major challenge came when 700,000 of the nation's students organized a national boycott in May demanding educational reform. The students called off the strike in June after the government agreed to address their concerns.
Even though Chile's financial state is gradually improving, younger generations are still missing out on the many opportunities that people in countries such as England can easily access and benefit from, such as free education, student grants and a wide range of outer curriculum activities.
