Investment Property in Chile

Politics

General Pinochet

Chile’s reputation is quite deservedly that of one of the most stable countries in South America, without much of the dramatic history of many other Latin American nations. However, Chile has had its own infamous period of unrest – the 17 years it spent under the leadership of General Augusto Pinochet, up until 1988.

Military coup

Pinochet’s bloody military coup in 1973 marked the end of years of parliamentary democracy, and over the period of his rule over 3,000 people were left missing or dead. Pinochet was questioned over the killings of dissidents by the hand of the government during the 1970s and 1980s, but he denied having anything to do with these. He died in 2006.

Concertación coalition

The centre-left Concertación coalition was originally formed in 1989 from 17 groups that opposed Pinochet. Over time, several of the largest of the 17 parties have grown and absorbed some of the smaller parties, and some groups have left altogether. However, the Concertación has led Chile since 1990. It is now made up of the PDC, the PS, the PPD and the PRSD.

Leading parties

The largest part of the Concertación is the PDC, though its strength is thought to be waning. The PS is a social-democratic party, aligned with the PDC. The current president of Chile belongs to this party, as did the last president. The PPD is the most recently formed party, existing since 1989, and over the years the PPD has become more similar in its policies to the PS. The PRSD has a similar outlook to the old Partido Radical, but these days it has a small share of the vote and has little input in matters of policy.

President Bachelet

The current president is Michelle Bachelet, who took over from Ricardo Lagos in March 2006. Bachelet has announced that she wants to prioritise social issues and to ensure that the benefit of Chile’s economic growth reaches all Chilean people. President Bachelet faced her first crisis during the summer of 2006 with student protests over education reforms spilling over into violence.

Political stability

Although President Bachelet’s popularity has recently declined, with her approval rating sinking to 41.4% in May 2007, it is predicted that Chile’s economic growth will result in greater public confidence in the government. Chile’s political climate remains more stable than many Latin American countries, which is partly a result of the country’s homogenous resident population, and also of its strong commitment to democratic practises.