Chile is one in all South The United States’s such a lot stable and wealthy international locations. It has been moderately free of the coups and arbitrary governments that experience blighted the continent.
The exception was the 17-12 months rule of General Augusto Pinochet, whose 1973 coup was one among the bloodiest in twentieth-century Latin America and whose dictatorship left greater than THREE,000 folks useless and missing.
Chile’s abnormal, ribbon-like form – 4,THREE HUNDRED km lengthy and on average ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE km wide – has given it a hugely various local weather.
This ranges from the world’s driest desert – the Atacama – in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a snow-susceptible Alpine local weather in the south, with glaciers, fjords and lakes.
Chile is a multi-ethnic society, together with folks of European and Indian ancestry.
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Sebastian Pinera won the presidential election in December 2017, having served as president for 4 years until 2014.
Local markets soared on hopes of extra investor-pleasant policies anticipated to be offered via the billionaire conservative.
MEDIA
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Chile’s nationwide and local terrestrial TELEVISION channels perform alongside intensive cable TELEVISION networks, which carry many US and international stations.
Radio is the most important source of reports; there are loads of stations, such a lot of them commercial.
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TIMELINE
Some key dates in Chile’s historical past:
Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Troops fireplace on the presidential palace during coup during which President Allende died
1535 – Indigenous Araucanian folks successfully face up to first Spanish invasion of Chile.
1541 – Pedro de Valdivia starts Spanish conquest and founds Santiago.
1810 – Junta in Santiago declares autonomy for Chile following the overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon, however Spain regains regulate of Chile in 1814.
1818 – Chile turns into independent.
1879-84 – Chile will increase its territory through one 3rd after it defeats Peru and Bolivia in War of the Pacific.
Late 19th century – Pacification of indigenous Araucanians paves manner for European immigration; huge-scale mining of nitrate and copper begins.
1891 – Civil war over constitutional dispute among president and congress results in congressional victory, with president lowered to figurehead.
1970 – Salvador Allende becomes world’s first democratically elected Marxist president and embarks on an intensive programme of nationalisation and radical social reform.
1973 – Leader of Personnel Normal Augusto Pinochet ousts Allende in coup and proceeds to ascertain a brutal dictatorship which lasts till 1990.
1989 – Elections mark go back to civilian rule.
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Symbol copyright Getty Pictures Image caption Former dictator General Augusto Pinochet was positioned below space arrest in Britain, the place the government later overruled a choice to extradite him to Spain
