Chile

A three-year-old Marxist government was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, first implemented by the PINOCHET dictatorship, led to unprecedented growth in 1991-97 and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government.

• temperate;
• desert in north;
• Mediterranean in central region;
• cool and damp in south

• low coastal mountains;
• fertile central valley;
• rugged Andes in east

• severe earthquakes;
• active volcanism;
• tsunamis

• widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources;
• air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
• water pollution from raw sewage

party to:

Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban

• strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage);
• Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

0-14 years:

26.4% (male 2,112,251; female 2,018,099)

15-64 years:

66% (male 5,151,551; female 5,180,607)

65 years and over:

7.7% (male 499,441; female 703,267) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Chilean(s)

adjective:

Chilean

conventional long form:

Republic of Chile

conventional short form:

Chile

local long form:

Republica de Chile

local short form:

Chile

• 13 regions (regiones, singular - region);
• Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso

note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

• based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

note: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being gradually implemented throughout the country

chief of state:

President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

election results:

Ricardo LAGOS Escobar elected president; percent of vote - Ricardo LAGOS Escobar 51.32%, Joaquin LAVIN 48.68%

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
• election last held 12 December 1999, with runoff election held 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA December 2005)

• bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (49 seats, 38 elected by popular vote, 9 designated members, and 2 former presidents who serve six-year terms and are senators for life);
• elected members serve eight-year terms (one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%;
• seats by party - CPD 20 (PDC 12, PS 5, PPD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7), independents 2;
• Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%;
• seats by party - CPD 62 (PDC 24, PPD 21, PS 11, PRSD 6), UDI 35, RN 22, independent 1

elections:

Senate - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2005)

• Alliance for Chile ("Alianza") or APC - including RN and UDI;
• Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adolfo ZALDIVAR];
• Coalition of Parties for Democracy ("Concertacion") or CPD - including PDC, PS, PPD, PRSD;
• Communist Party or PC [Gladys MARIN];
• Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Pablo LONGUEIRA];
• National Renewal or RN [Sebastian PINERA];
• Party for Democracy or PPD [Guido GIRARDI];
• Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Orlando CANTUARIAS];
• Socialist Party or PS [Camilo ESCALONA]

• revitalized university student federations at all major universities;
• Roman Catholic Church;
• United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations

chief of mission:

Ambassador Andres BIANCHI

chancery:

1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

FAX:

[1] (202) 887-5579

telephone:

[1] (202) 785-1746

chief of mission:

Ambassador William R. BROWNFIELD

embassy:

Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago

mailing address:

APO AA 34033

telephone:

[56] (2) 232-2600

FAX:

[56] (2) 330-3710

• two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red;
• there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band;
• the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor;
• blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence;
• design was influenced by the US flag

lowest 10%:

1.3%

highest 10%:

45.6% (1998)

• wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, fruit;
• beef, poultry, wool;
• fish;
• timber

general assessment:

modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities

domestic:

extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations

international:

satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

total:

6,585 km

broad gauge:

2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1,317 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)

total:

79,814 km

paved:

15,484 km (including 294 km of expressways)

unpaved:

64,330 km (2000)

• gas 2,267 km;
• gas/liquid petroleum gas 42 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 531 km;
• oil 983 km;
• refined products 545 km (2003)

total:

50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 696,202 GRT/900,317 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 9, cargo 6, chemical tanker 9, container 4, liquefied gas 2, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 6, vehicle carrier 4

note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Netherlands 1 (2002 est.)

• Bolivia continues to press Chile and Peru to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile in 1884;
• dispute with Peru over the economic zone delimited by the maritime boundary;
• Chile demands water rights to Bolivia's Rio Lauca and Silala Spring;
• Beagle Channel islands dispute resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, but armed incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery;
• territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims

• a growing transshipment country for cocaine destined for the US and Europe;
• economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone;
• imported precursors passed on to Bolivia;
• domestic cocaine consumption is rising