Recent History

The Early Constitutions

La Patria Vieja

The first government body was formed in 1810 and lasted until the "Battle of Rancagua" in 1814. In 1811, a "provisional" constitution was adopted which vested temporary powers in the Chilean congress. In 1812, it was decided that Fernando VII would be ruler, but that the currently existing congress would be accepted. Under the government of José Miguel Carrera, executive power was vented in a government "junta", and it was declared that no foreign law would be recognized in Chile. At this same time, a Senate was comprised of seven members who's responsibility was to support the Junta. The era of the Patria Vieja came to an end in 1814 when power was removed from the executive and vested in a "Supreme Dictator."

La Nueva Patria

The Nueva Patria lasted from 1814 until the end of Bernardo O'Higgins' government in 1823. O'Higgins was the first Supreme Dictator, and sought to regulate the lives of citizens through the following constitutional changes:

• 1818 - Executive power would be vested in the Supreme Dictator and the system would be primarily authoritarian.
• 1822 - The term of the Supreme Dictator would be limited to six years, but he could be re-elected for a period of four more. Since the new law would not be retroactive, this assured O'Higgins of ten more years as dictator, a situation which was not acceptable to many of the country's aristocracy.

National Disorganization

The period of time between 1823 and 1830 was one of anarchy. During these years, there were various attempts to control the country through a variety of laws which met only the barest standard of needs. In 1823, the Acta de Unión de Provincias was signed with the objectives of electing Ramón Freire as Supreme Dictator, organizing the nation politically, and creating a Constitutional Congress. This congress was presided over by Juan Engaña, and was commissioned to write a new constitution which was enacted later in 1823. This constitution was very "moralistic" in nature, and it turned out to be impractical to enforce because it attempted to regulate the private lives of the citizens.

In 1826, Freire was renounced, and Manuel Blanco Encalada was elected as provisional Chief of State under the title, "President of the Republic." Encalada commissioned the creation of yet another constitution. Before work on the new constitution began, however, he approved a series of new laws known as the "Leyes Federales" which accomplished the following:

• Divided the country into eight provinces in which provisional assemblies would be elected and composed of publicly elected deputies;
• Municipal councils, governors, and parish priests would be elected by popular vote; and
• Executive powers would reside in the President of the Republic who would be elected for a period of three years.

Application of this federalist regime created all kinds of problems. The self-serving ambitions of some leaders and rivalries among provinces combined to create a political crisis. In 1827, in order to appease the growing numbers of people who wanted change, a liberal named Don Francisco Antonio Pinto was placed in power as Vice President.

In 1828, yet another constitutional congress came up with a new document. This new constitution was more liberal than the previous, but was still impractical. In 1829, as a result of the presidential election, a revolution developed in which the conservatives defeated the liberals, and this upheaval led to great public support regarding the need for a strong government. In 1833, José Joaquín Prieto assumed power, and another constitution was created.

Constitutions of the Republic

The constitution of 1833 had an "authoritarian" feel to it. Great executive power resided in the President of the Republic; so much power, in fact, that consideration was given to creating additional legal tools which could be used by congress to control the executive. Still, this constitution remained in effect until 1925.

In 1925, under the leadership of Jorge Alessandria, power between the executive and legislative branches was equalized. With this change, the constitution remained in effect until it was suspended at the beginning of the Pinochet regime in 1973. This suspension was in place until the foundation of the Constitution of 1980, the constitution which is still in effect today.

1973: The Dawn of the Pinochet Regime

During the years following the constitution of 1925, Chile came to have a very well-developed political system based on a democratic government. Economically, however, Chile faced ever-growing problems. Although it had always been an export nation, between the years 1958 and 1973 Chile's national economy was both closed and floundering. Because prices, industry, and banks were all controlled by the state, rather than the open market, whoever was in power at the time was seen as being in control of the economy, and therefore to blame for problems. Anibal Pinto, a Chilean author, in 1958 predicted that Chile's economy would ultimately result in a political breakdown. Pinto certainly had no idea how accurate his prediction would become.

Between 1960 and 1970, while both conservative and liberal factions of government had numerous supporters, most people in Chile considered themselves to be politically moderate, or "Center". The graphic below is a hypothetical representation of how the political distribution of Chile might have looked during this period.

The major political parties that evolved over time might be described as follows:

The political distribution which so heavily favored the center positions began to quickly divide under the hardships. Those who supported communist/socialist reforms and supported the Allende government moved even farther to the left forming what was known as the "Unidad Popular", while the Christian Democrats and the Partido Nacional moved to the extreme right and formed the "Democratic Confederation". The result was a drastic political polarization which left very few people in the Center to Moderate philosophical positions. Leaders become more and more rigid, and political compromise became impossible. This great polarization quickly spread to the social sectors, and people began to fight among themselves.

It wasn't long before the politicians and citizens who backed the Democratic Confederation started to support the idea of military intervention. Although accounts and opinions vary as to the extent, it is also clear that the United States also supported a military solution because of the concern of Cuba's support of Allende and the socialist movement, and what were feared to be ties to the former Soviet Union. The solution, it seemed to many, rested in the hands of the Chilean military, and General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.

This is how a national military, previously a neutral entity until at least the 1960's, was thrust into the world of party politics, and into the escalating conflict. There was no longer any desire for political compromise, public pressure was great, so it seemed that the military had no choice but to take a position and take action.

On September 11, 1973, at seven o'clock in the morning, president Salvador Allende received a call in his private home that there were abnormal movements of troops in Valparaíso. An hour and a half later, the citizens heard on the radio that the country was under the control of the Armed Forces which were asking for Allende's resignation.

Allende had gone to La Moneda, the presidential palace in Santiago. At 9:00 am*, the Armed Forces gave Allende an ultimatum: either surrender in three minutes or La Moneda would be bombed. At 10:30 am*, two Hawker Hunter jet fighters, supported by three tanks, began an assault on La Moneda using incendiary bombs. When the attack commenced, the ministers and collaborators of the Unidad Popular government who were inside La Moneda decided to surrender. Salvador Allende, however, remained inside. At approximately 2:15 pm, Salvador Allende died. Some Chileans believe that Allende was killed by the attackers; others believe that Allende committed suicide rather than to be captured. Those who supported Allende called the military's actions a "coup." Those who supported the military called it an "intervention". One thing was certain: the Allende government had come to a violent and abrupt end, and the challenges of the nation were now in the hands of the military.

At the helm of the new Military junta were General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, Vice Admiral José Toribio Merino, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh Guzmán, and Director of Carabineros César Mendoza Durán. Pinochet had no experience with running governments, let alone dealing with economic disasters. Pinochet solicited the help and advice of several Chilean young men who had studied economics in Chicago in the United States, who later became known as the Chicago Boys. Rather than to retry the solutions attempted by the previous presidents, Pinochet took the advice of the Chicago Boys and decided to set the country on a revolutionary new path. The government would no longer be in control of the economy- Chile would begin to operate an open market. There was much controversy surrounding this plan, and many (even thousands over the years) of those who either opposed the plan, or were suspected of opposition, suddenly "disappeared". The cost for improving the economy, it seemed, would be loss of human rights.

In time, the economic policies of Pinochet began to work. Today, the real Chilean gross national product has increased to 6.2% from 4.0 prior to 1973. Per capita income rose from $2,200 to $4,500, and inflation dropped to 13.5%. Chileans don't talk much about what happened in 1973 anymore, but most everyone has some opinion as to where the country should go next. Some feel that Chile's transition back back to a democratic system will lead to greater prosperity. Others, however, who remember the economic problems of the 60's would just as soon see the dictatorial mandates of Pinochet remain.

In March of 1988, Pinochet stepped down as commander in-chief of the army, symbolizing a step toward redemocratization of Chile. Still, and also symbolic, is the fact that Pinochet has stepped down as dictator only to take up a lifetime appointed seat in Chile’s Senate, a right he wrote into the constitution in 1980. Currently, the country is led by Socialist President, Ricardo Lagos, elected by slightly more than 51% of the popular vote in January, 2000.

Does the current economic upturn justify the human rights atrocities of the early Pinochet regime? If a national situation of a stable political democracy and a dying economy led to a revolution, what can we expect from a nation with a booming economy and a recent dictatorship? If the answers to such questions exist, they do so within the hearts of the Chilean people themselves. Only time will tell what lies on the road ahead.

(*Special thanks to Jim Thurston for providing the correct times. Mr. Thurston was living in Santiago when the bombings occurred and was witness to the events.)