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| National motto: Por la razón o la fuerza (Spanish: By reason or strength) | |||||
| Official language | Spanish | ||||
| Capital | Santiago | ||||
| President | Ricardo Lagos Escobar | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 37th 756,950 km² ¹ 1.07% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2002) - Density | Ranked 61st
15,116,435 20/km² | ||||
| Independence
- Initiated - Formaly declared | From Spain
September 18, 1810 February 12, 1818 | ||||
| Currency | Peso | ||||
| Time zone | UTC -4 | ||||
| National anthem | Himno Nacional | ||||
| Internet TLD | .CL | ||||
| Calling Code | 56 | ||||
| (1) Chile claims 1,250,000 km² of Antarctica | |||||
| Table of contents |
|
2 Politics 3 Regions 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 National symbols 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 Reference 11 External link |
In 1531 the Spanish conquered Peru from the Incas. One of the Conquistadors in that voyage was Diego de Almagro. He left in 1535 to the South of Peru after territorial disputes. He is credited with being the discoverer of Chile. However he did not leave any lasting marks on the territory. It wasn't until the voyage of Pedro de Valdivia 1540-1541 that a permanent Spanish presence was established. Valdivia founded a string of villages on his way south. Finally, on 12th of February 1541 he founded Santiago.
A Spanish colony until the 1810s, after gaining its independence, Chile has had a remarkably stable institutional life, with only a handful of interruptions, the longest and most recent being the government of Augusto Pinochet.
The country's current constitution was adopted in 1980 during the military government led by Augusto Pinochet and increased the power of the president and institutionalized the participation of the comanders in chief of the armed forced in the institutional life. After
Pinochet's defeat on the 1988 referendum, several amendments have been made, decreasing the power of the president and
toning down the voice of the armed forces. As of 2003,
discussions about further reforms continue, but have a low priority.
Executive Branch is headed by the president of the republic. As of 2003 the president is the socialist Ricardo Lagos. The president also appoints the cabinet members. The president is chosen for 6 year terms and cannot be immediately re-elected.
Judicial Branch has the Supreme court as its highest institution. For questions related to the constitution there is the Constitutional Tribunal, which also has the right to veto laws that it considers go against the constitution.
Legislative Branch is made up of 2 chambers.
Although there are some known cases of corruption in Chile, there is no rampant abuse of power by public officials.
Chile is divided into 13 regions, each of which is headed by an intendente. Every region is further divided into provinces with a Gobernador provincial. Finally each province is divided into various Comunas each with its own mayor. Intendentes and gobernadores are appointed by the president, mayors are elected by popular vote.
Each region is designated by a name and a Roman numeral. Numbers are assigned from north to south. In general the Roman numeral is used, rather than the name. The only exception is the region where Santiago is situated, which is designated RM, that stands for Region Metropolitana, Metropolitan Region.
The climate varies widely from subtropical in the north, passing by the most arid desert in the world, the Atacama desert, through a fertile valley in the center, to a cold and damp south, originally covered by forest. The Mediterranean quality of the central valley made it ideal for the cultivation of table fruits, which are one of Chile's main exports, and the production of wine, also a growing export.
The economy is mostly export driven. Its main export product still
continues to be copper, followed by agribusiness products. However this is not nearly as important
(40% of total value exported) as it was 30 years ago (70% of
exports). Recently Chile has also started exporting products such as fine wines, salmons and wood pulp. Though the country is not as
industrialized as developed countries, it's one of the most
industrialized nations of Latin America.
While the main industry of the northern part of Chile is mostly
mining related, the southern half has quite an extensive
agricultural and dairy industry. The Central-zone is dedicated mostly
to services and industry, with the main
harbor, Valparaiso, Chile, also situated in this part of the country.
Chile has a large service sector and has one of the worlds most
liberalized and modern telecommunications infrastructures. Tourist industry is also still growing in Chile. People are attracted to the country's rugged beauty of the southern woodlands, the emptyness of the northern desert plains and the May to September skiing season in the Andes mountains.
In the boom years of the 1990s yearly economic growth was in the
7 to 12% range. After the Asiatic economic crisis in 1997, economic
growth has slowed to a steady 3% per year.
According its export orientation, Chile has several free trade agreements with many countries and commercial blocks: Central American Nations, Canada, Mexico, USA, Singapur, the EFTA and the European Union, for instance. Negotiations are being handled with South Korea. Also Chile is member (in different degrees )of many international economical instances, like APEC, OMC, Mercosur, Pacto Andino , etc.
Such diversity of relations makes Chilean economy non-exclusively dependant of any major partner and provides stability.
The population is mostly mestizo, with some of the original ethnic groups remaining in the south, on Easter Island, and in the mountains in the north. Other minor ethnic groups are the result of some more recent European immigration, mostly from Germany.
The level of education is high, and Chileans are proud of having two winners of the Nobel Prize in literature: Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.History
Main article: History of ChilePolitics
Main article: Politics of Chile
For any law to be passed, a law has to pass through both chambers and be aproved by the president of the republic (who has a limited veto right). The chambers and the president can all propose new laws, but there are matters
where only the president can start a law.Regions
Main article: Regions of ChileGeography
Main article: Geography of ChileEconomy
Main article: Economy of ChileDemographics
Main article: Demographics of Chile
| Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Año nuevo | |
| March or April | Holy Week (Easter) | Semana Santa | |
| May 1 | Labour Day | Día del Trabajo | |
| May 21 | Navy Day | Día de las fuezas navales | |
| June | Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi | |
| August 15 | Assumption_Day | Asuncion de La Virgen | |
| September 18 | Independence Day | Primera Junta Nacional de Gobierno | National holiday |
| September 19 | Day of glories of the Army | Día de las glorias del ejército | |
| October 12 | Columbus Day | Día de la Raza | |
| December 8 | Immaculate Conception | Día de la Inmaculada Concepción | |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | Navidad (also called Pascua) |
See also: Music of Chile
National symbols
The national flower is the copihue, that lives in the woods in the southern part of Chile:
The shield-of-arms depicts the two national animals: the condor (a very large bird that lives in the mountains) and the huemul (an endangered white tail deer). It also has the legend Por la razón o la fuerza (By reason or strength):
Miscellaneous topics
Reference
External link