A CASE STUDY ON THE

EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY IN CHILE

Chile once boasted a longer history of stable democratic
rule than most of its neighbors in South America and much
of Western Europe. It was ruled by Salvador Allende, but
soon the democratic rule was overthrown by a military
dictatorship, Pinochet's rule in September 11, 1973.
General Pinochet became president of the republic for an
8-year term.
Under Pinochet's rule the people suffered a lot as he
did not allow any fundamental right for them. The military
government of Chile (1973-90) was characterized by the
systematic suppression of political parties and the
persecution

of

dissidents

to

an

extent

that

was

unprecedented in the history of Chile. Pinochet was

1

proclaimed the president in 1974.The military continued to

exercise a great influence on politics through deterrence.
In the late 1980s, the government gradually permitted
greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, to
include trade union and political activity.
Chileans elected a new president and the majority of
members of a two-chamber congress on December 14,
1989. Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin, the candidate of
a coalition of 17 political parties called the Concertacin,
received an absolute majority of votes (55%). President
Aylwin served from 1990 to 1994, in what was considered
a transition period. In February 1991 Aylwin created
the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation,
which released in February 1991 the Rettig Report on
human rights violations committed during the military rule.
2

It was an eight-membered commission. President Eduardo

Frei, a Christian Democrat and son of the president who
preceded Aylwin, began his six-year term in 1994.On
March 11, 1998, in the National Congress in Valparaiso,
the former dictator, Pinochet was sworn in as a lifetime
senator -- a condition of the transition to democracy - and
sat down in the body he had closed down 25 years before,
among leaders he had persecuted and exiled. In October
1998, the 83-year-old Pinochet traveled to England for
back surgery. He was arrested on a warrant issued by
Spanish

prosecutors

Manuel

Garcia

Castellon

and

Balthazar Garzon investigating the deaths of Spanish

nationals at the hands of the Chilean security forces. The
Chilean government immediately asked for his release,
saying that the foreign courts had no jurisdiction over
actions taken on Chilean soil. The Spanish prosecutors
3

persisted, saying that Pinochet's actions constituted

crimes

against

right Sebastian

humanity.
Pinera, won

By

2010,

the Chilean

election.
--------

Civics Assignment
4

the

center-

presidential

A CASE STUDY ON
THE EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY IN CHILE

Submitted by

M. M. Preeti
Class 9 B,
Yuvabharathi Public School
Coimbatore.

2013