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1 [1] (June 3, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdars0001 and id is 1 raw text is: xa IS Ik Chile: An Overview Chile, a countryof 19.1 million people,is locatedalongthe Pacific coast of South America. Chile traditionally has been one ofthe United States' closest partners in Latin America due to the countries' comnon commitments to democracy, human rights, and free trade. Chile's transition to a higher levelof economic development has enabledthe country to play amore active role in foreign affairs, including U.S.- backed efforts to promote peace and stability in the Western Hemisphere. Figure I. Chile at a Glance CaP/Ga per Santif. PopVet ate: qi m Sources: CRSGraphics; Insituto Naconalde Estadisticas; Centro de Estudios Pblicos; andthe International Monetary Fund. Race r Etnitit - SY2%w ite Siwrm Mile has along democratic traditionbutexperienced 17 years of authoritarian rule after a 1973 military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet deposed the democratically elected Socialist government of President Salvador Allende (1970-1973). More than 3,200people were killed or disappeared, andsome 38,000 people were imprisoned and/or tortured during the Pinochet dictatorship. Chile ultimately restored a democratic systemofgovemment in 1990. A center-left coalition of parties dominated Chilean politics for two decades after the transition. President Sebastidn Pifiera of the center-right Let's Go Chile coalition was inaugurated to a second nonconsecutive termin March 2018. His 2017 campaign centered onthe economic record of his first term(2010-2014), when the Chilean economy expanded by 5.3% per year. His argunrnt that Chile needed stronger economic growthto address the concerns of the middle clas s appeared to resonate with many voters after four years ofeconomic stagnation under President Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010, 2014-2018) and her center-left New Majority coalition. Pifiera began his second four-year termpledging to enact business-friendly taxand laborreforms. Similar to his first term, however, Pifiera struggled to win legislative approval for his agenda because his coalition lacks majorities in both houses of congress. He effectively abandonedhis campaign proposals in October2019 as he soughtto respond to mass protests. Pifiera is likely to spend the remainder of his term trying to contain socialunrest while contending with the health and economic challenges posed by the Coronaviru s Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In the 30 years since Chile's democratic transition, successive administrations have largely adhered to the sane mix of market-oriented economic policies and targeted social welfare programs. Although living standards have improved significantly, many Chileans are dissatis fied with the limits of the post-Pinochet policy consensus. They argue that Chile's economic growth has disproportionately benefited a small sector of society and that most Chileans still lack economic security and access to quality public services. Chileans have registered their dis content with the status quo through repeated electoral swings and mass mobilizations over the past decade. Frustrations boiled over in October2019, when protests against anincrease in transit fares suddenly tumedviolent. As some groups engaged in vandalism, arson, and looting, Pifiera declared a stateof emergency and deployed the military to enforce acurfew. Thosemeasures appear to have triggered a backlash, with millions of Chileans taking to the streets to denounce societal inequality and the highcost of living. Pifiera lifted the state of emergency after 10days, but protests, and sometines -violent clashes with Chilean security forces, continued into 2020; Chile's National Human Rights Institute has filed more than 1,400 criminal complaints against members of the police andmilitary for alleged human rights abuses. Pifiera has sought to address protestors' demands with proposals to increase pensions and the minimum wage, reduce health care costs, and enhance penalties for corruption. He also agreed to hold a plebiscite on whether the country should draft anew constitutionto replace the Pinochet-era charter. The arrivalof the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile suspended most protest activity and shifted the focus of government efforts. The Pifiera Adminis tration began implementing containment measures in March 2020, closing borders and restricting freedomofmovement. Although Pifiera had announcedplans to begin lifting restrictions in May, a spike in infections andhospitalizations forcedhimto backtrack and impose a complete quarantine on the Santiago metropolitan region-home to more than 40% of Chileans. As of June 2,2020, Chile had confirmed more than 108,000 cases of COVID-19 and had registered nearly 1,200 deaths. The Pifiera Administration has taken aggressive action to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. It has increased funding for unemployment benefits, offered A A '2 Updated June 3,2020

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