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1 [1] (July 26, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemic0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing Ih legislative debame since 1914 Chile: An Overview Updated July 26, 2023 Chile, located along the Pacific coast of South America, traditionally has been one of the United States' closest partners in Latin America. In 2023, the two countries are commemorating 200 years of official relations and the 20th anniversary of their free trade agreement. Over the past year, the Biden Administration has sought to collaborate with Chilean President Gabriel Boric on regional democracy, human rights, migration, and security concerns. However, internal challenges may limit Chile's ability to take on new responsibilities or exert its influence abroad. Figure I. Chile at a Glance Sources: (KS Graphics; Instituto Nacional de Lstadisticas; Latinobar6metro; International Monetary Fund; Trade Data Monitor; and Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia. Poitical and Economk Environment Chile has a long democratic tradition but experienced 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 3,200 people were killed or disappeared, and some 38,000 people were imprisoned and/or tortured during the Pinochet dictatorship. Chile restored democracy in 1990, following a 1988 plebiscite. Center-left and center-right coalitions dominated Chilean politics for three decades following the transition. Center- left coalitions held the presidency and majorities in Chile's bicameral congress for most of that period, but Sebastian Pinera led his center-right coalition to power for two nonconsecutive presidential terms (2010-2014, 2018-2022). Both coalitions largely maintained the market-oriented economic framework inherited from Pinochet while implementing consensus-based reforms to gradually expand the social safety net. Living standards improved significantly following the restoration of democracy, with real GDP growth averaging 4.5% per year between 1990 and 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the poverty rate falling from 68.5% to 8.6% between 1990 and 2017, according to the Chilean government, using its current methodology. Nevertheless, Latinobardmetro polls since the mid-1990s have shown a majority of Chileans to be dissatisfied with the results of the post-Pinochet policy consensus. Inequality remains high in comparison to other Latin American countries and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members, and many Chileans still lack economic security and access to quality public services. Chileans have registered their discontent through repeated electoral swings and mass protests. In late 2019, for example, protests against a transit fare increase in Santiago, accompanied by widespread vandalism, arson, and looting, spiraled into nationwide demonstrations against inequality and the Pinera Administration's heavy-handed response. Constitutional Reform In an effort to restore peace and respond to demands for a new social contract, the Pinera Administration and legislators from across the political spectrum agreed to hold a plebiscite on whether to replace the Pinochet-era constitution. The plebiscite passed with the support of 78% of voters, and in May 2021, Chileans elected a constitutional convention in which predominantly left-of- center independents held a plurality of seats. After a year of deliberations, the convention approved a sweeping 388- article draft constitution that would have enshrined numerous individual and social rights, significantly expanded the government's role in social service provision, and modified some government institutions. Voters rejected the new constitution by a margin of 62% to 38% in a September 2022 referendum, after some prominent center- left leaders aligned with the Chilean right in characterizing the proposed changes as too radical. In January 2023, amid continued public support for some constitutional reforms, Chile's congress appointed a 24- member committee of experts to produce a revised constitution. In May 2023, Chile held national elections for a constitutional council whose 50 members are to finalize the new draft. Modified rules for electing delegates, together with shifts in public opinion, resulted in right-of- center parties gaining a majority of council seats. A referendum on the second draft constitution, which observers expect will be shorter and more limited in scope than the rejected version, is scheduled for December 2023. Boric Adrinistration Gabriel Boric was inaugurated to a four-year presidential term in March 2022, a decade after rising to prominence as a leader of Chile's student movement. Leading the left- wing Apruebo Dignidad coalition, he defeated right-wing populist Jose Antonio Kast with 56% of the vote in a December 2021 runoff election. Boric pledged to address environmental concerns and usher in a new era of economic and social inclusion by strengthening the public education and health care systems, replacing the privatized pension

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