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50-668: The service was formed in 1980 by the combination of the previous Institute of Geological Investigations and the State Mines Service. Its director is appointed by the President of Chile . Since 1974, SERNAGEOMIN has published the scientific journal Andean Geology , formerly the Revista Geológica de Chile . This article about government in Chile is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about mining

100-517: A coup d'état if Salvador Allende was ultimately chosen by the National Congress as president. Schneider's death was viewed unfavorably by the public and rallied citizens and military personnel in support of Allende. Ultimately, on 24 October, the National Congress chose Allende as the President. On 26 October, President Eduardo Frei appointed General Carlos Prats as the new commander in chief of

150-537: A career in politics that included being a senator and 3 consecutive bids for the presidency prior to the 1970 election cycle. In 1970 he ran for the Popular Unity coalition, a political alliance consisting of the leftists of Chile including the Chilean Communist Party and Chilean Socialist Party. His platform included 40 promises that would benefit the lower class, including ending inflation, greatly reducing

200-552: A few weeks later. The election was held using the absolute majority system, under which a candidate had to receive over 50% of the popular vote to be elected. If no candidate received over 50% of the vote, both houses of the National Congress would come together to vote on the two candidates that received the most votes. Allende was a self-described Marxist and lifetime member of the Chilean Socialist Party . He had

250-617: A narrow margin of 39,000 votes of a total of the 3 million cast. After the elections, the KGB director Yuri Andropov obtained permission for additional money and other resources from the Central Committee of the CPSU to ensure Allende victory in Congress. In his request on 24 October, he stated that KGB "will carry out measures designed to promote the consolidation of Allende's victory and his election to

300-589: A nation can be traced to 1541, when it was separated from the existing Viceroyalty of Peru by King Charles I , creating the new Kingdom of Chile . The head of state continued to be the king, but he was represented locally by the Royal Governor . The Constitution of 1980 , with its 2005 amendment, outlines the qualifications for becoming president. To be eligible, the individual must be a natural-born Chilean citizen or born abroad to Chilean parents or grandparents. They must also be at least 35 years old and meet all

350-400: A person can run for candidacy if they have not previously served as president. The incumbent president, in accordance with the constitution, completes their corresponding term on 11 March of the immediate year after the election. The president-elect takes office the same day. If the President is unable to perform his or her duties, the President's powers are usually temporarily transferred to

400-414: A six-year term, without an immediate reelection. Under the 2005 constitutional reform, the president serves for four years without the possibility of immediate reelection for one more term. A former president may run for office once again after serving their initial term, but only in an election following their successor, as it is not allowed to run for consecutive terms. There is no limit to how many times

450-478: A symbol of the authority of the first president with the assumption of office by President José Joaquín Prieto in 1831. It is composed of three stripes with the colors of the Chilean flag, it is sewn by hand and measured approximately 75 cm (30 in) long and 13 cm (5.1 in) wide. From the nineteenth century a single sash was maintained that was transferred from president to president until 1915, due to

500-648: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . President of Chile The President of Chile ( Spanish : Presidente de Chile ), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( Spanish : Presidente de la República de Chile ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile . The president is responsible for both government administration and state administration. Although its role and significance have changed over time , and its position and relations with other actors in

550-506: The 40 Committee approved $ 435,000 for that purpose. In fact that represented only about half the money spent by the CIA to influence the election; the Church Committee put the total amount at between $ 800,000 and $ 1 million. The money approved by the 40 Committee was used in a "scare campaign" of posters and pamphlets linking an Allende victory with the violence and repression associated with

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600-570: The Minister of the Interior under the title of " Vice President ". However, this is not a substantive position. Rather, the holder of the position fulfills the duties of the President only for as long as the President is incapacitated or a vacancy occurs. If the President and the Minister of the Interior are both temporarily unavailable, the next minister of the government, in the order of succession, becomes

650-634: The Popular Unity alliance won a narrow plurality in a race against independent Jorge Alessandri and Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic, before having his victory confirmed by a contingent election after the Christian Democrats voted in favour of his candidacy. Both the United States and the Soviet Union poured money into this election through their intelligence agencies and other sources, with

700-451: The national political organization have also evolved, it remains one of the most prominent political offices in the country. It is also considered one of the key institutions that form the "Historic Constitution of Chile," and is crucial to the country's political stability. Under the current Constitution , adopted in 1980 , the president serves a four-year term and is not eligible for immediate re-election. The shorter term (previously it

750-539: The "Vice President". The consent of the Senate is required for the Vice President to exercise the duties of the President. A partial constitutional amendment in 2011 established the order of presidential succession in the order of Minister of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of National Defense. Names of incumbents as of 2023 : The presidential sash , used initially by Bernardo O'Higgins , became

800-469: The CIA to raise concerns about Chile's future. During this period, the CIA produced over 726 articles, broadcasts, and similar items. The CIA also encouraged international economic pressure against Chile. Additionally, the United States began laying the groundwork for a military coup, authorizing the Ambassador to Chile to promote this outcome through his contacts in the Chilean military. In the summer before

850-479: The Chilean Constitution. Article 26 detail the electoral requirements. The president shall be elected by direct ballot, with an absolute majority of the votes validly cast. A two-round system is used. In order to win the election in the first round, the winning candidate's party must receive more than 50 percent of the valid votes leaving out of the count blank and spoiled votes. The election shall be held

900-528: The Christian Democrats and the Frei administration, quickly developing a close relationship with Frei. At the request of Frei, he became more directly involved in Tomic's campaign, as he was becoming frustrated with Tomic's frequent criticism of the party he was running for, as well as with his increasingly leftist views. One major point of involvement was attempting to stop Tomic from continuing to advocate for an alliance with

950-410: The President of Chile, his campaign started out very strong. However, over time he lost support for a variety of reasons. One major factor was his age and health. At the time of the 1970 election, Alessandri was 74 years old and had experienced a variety of health issues, mental and physical, including on national TV. According to Sergio Riesenberg , Alessandri's appearance on TV backfired and cost him

1000-502: The Soviet Union. Editorials and news stories reinforcing this message were also written with CIA guidance, especially in the newspaper El Mercurio , and disseminated throughout the national media. The goal was to contribute to and exploit the political polarization and financial panic of the period. Besides propaganda, the CIA also funded an attempt to splinter the Radical Party away from the Popular Unity coalition. This CIA campaign

1050-417: The Soviet Union. Over time, Korry would become frustrated with Tomic as well, a bad sign for US relations if Tomic had become president. Korry was later accused of involvement in the 1973 coup due to his vocal criticism of Allende, despite not being involved, with his innocence only being acknowledged by major media outlets in 1981. He strongly opposed any military intervention in Chile, both immediately after

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1100-488: The army, succeeding René Schneider. Prats himself resigned in August 1973, and Allende appointed Augusto Pinochet , then presumed to be loyal to Allende, as his successor; a few weeks later, Pinochet would overthrow Allende in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and lead the resulting military junta . Allende's presidency was eventually ratified after he agreed to sign a "Statute of Constitutional Guarantees", pledging not to undermine

1150-584: The campaign attacking Frei's reforms instead of directly promoting Alessandri. In the end, he finished second, meaning that the congressional vote was between him and Allende. Both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the KGB spent significant amounts of money to influence the outcome of the election. The CIA did not provide direct assistance to any candidate, as they had during the 1964 elections , but rather focused on anti-Allende propaganda, and

1200-487: The cost of medicine, and the adjustment of public housing rent. The remaining promises also fell in line with the socialist ideology of Allende and the Popular Unity coalition. Radomiro Tomic was a major figure in the Christian Democratic Party and was ambassador to Washington under President Eduardo Frei. As a longtime friend of Frei, he was appointed as an ambassador to put him on the path to candidacy for

1250-483: The election, and three years later when Pinochet came to power. The United States executive branch had two plans to prevent Allende from ascending to power if he won the vote. Track I was led by the State Department and involved manipulation of Chilean politics within the bounds of the Chilean constitution to lead to President Frei being re-elected. The CIA was not involved with it. Track II, or Project FUBELT ,

1300-416: The election, reports indicated that out of the 200 senators and deputies in Congress, Allende had 82 supporters, including the 80 members of Popular Unity, a major organizing force in the coalition. Tomic had 75 supporters following Allende, while Alessandri's remaining supporters amounted to 43 out of the 200 congresspeople. Two days prior to the confirmation, Army Commander-in-Chief General René Schneider

1350-488: The election. On the TV program Tres Bandas hosted by Gonzalo Bertrán there were two separate shots that showed him in bad light. In the first Alessandri said that he would be determined and that his "hands would not shake", subsequently the camera focused his hands that were actually shaking. In the second frame he was seen next to a stove warming his legs with a blanket despite it being spring. According to Riesenberg all this gave

1400-410: The exceptional possibility of his reelection in the 1988 plebiscite . Then, in the transition to democracy the 1989 referendum established a first transitional four-year presidential term (1990–1994), followed by common eight-year terms, without the possibility of immediate reelection. However, in 4 March 1994 (a week before Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle took office) the presidential period was reduced to

1450-418: The first election, limited to the two candidates with the highest relative majorities. Then, the candidate with the majority of valid votes in that round is elected president. Previously, under the 1925 constitution, the Congress of Chile elected the president in the run-off, including (notably) in the 1970 Chilean presidential election . Under the 1828 constitution, the president served for four years, without

1500-410: The former attempting to sabotage Allende, and the latter supporting his campaign. Ambassador Edward Korry would play a major role in anti-Allende campaigns during the election. Eduardo Frei Montalva and his Christian Democratic Party would later unite with Allende's opponents to form a congressional majority in an attempt to declare his presidency illegal in August 1973, catalyzing the military coup

1550-493: The height differences between the outgoing Ramón Barros Luco and the elected Juan Luis Sanfuentes , so a new sash had to be designed. Since that date, each president has had his or her own presidential sash, which is used only in official ceremonies. The O'Higgins Pioche , which is considered the symbol of presidential power and is placed at the lower end of the presidential sash, is a star of five ends of about 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter, enameled in red. It dates back to

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1600-811: The image of royalty that carriages now confer, used the black 1966 Ford Galaxie XL convertible acquired in 1968 for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Chile as his official vehicle with a normally issued license plate (EL-2801). Both the carriage and the Galaxie have since been maintained by the state and are now used only for official ceremonies, such as state visits and the national holidays on 21 May and 19 September, and presidential inaugurations which take place on 11 March every four years. 1970 Chilean presidential election Eduardo Frei Montalva PDC Salvador Allende Socialist Presidential elections were held in Chile on 4 September 1970. Salvador Allende of

1650-654: The medals of the Legion of Merit and remained intact until the coup d'état of 1973, when it disappeared during the bombing of the La Moneda palace. During the military regime of Augusto Pinochet a replica of the pioche was created, based on photographs of the original. It is only used together with the presidential sash. The president of Chile traditionally used an elegant horse drawn "Bandeja" Carriage imported from France by President José Manuel Balmaceda for ceremonial events until president Salvador Allende , not wanting to project

1700-473: The party in 1970. He was ideologically to the left of President Frei. He spent a large portion of his political career campaigning for a coalition between Christian Democrats and Leftists, despite most of both groups consistently not supporting his idea. He was known for being an egotistical, but nonetheless very charismatic speaker. His campaign benefited from the prestige of being ambassador to Washington, as well as his friendship with President Frei. However, it

1750-446: The possibility of immediate reelection for one more term. In 1833, the presidential period was changed to five years, with a possibility of immediate reelection for one more term, limited to two consecutive terms. Then by a constitutional reform in 1878, possibility for reelection became disallowed. Under the 1925 constitution, the president served for a six-year term, without the possibility of immediate reelection. Non-consecutive election

1800-436: The post of President of the country". US president Richard Nixon was enraged by Allende's victory and the failure of the CIA's covert actions against him. Edward M. Korry was the United States ambassador to Chile from 1967 to 1971, during which he was very involved in Chilean politics, particularly the 1970 elections. During the elections he spent time analyzing each candidate and their campaigns, and would report back to

1850-449: The public the impression of a man who was not longer of "an adequate age to become president". Another major factor was his campaign being staffed mostly by amateurs, which led to the wasting of resources, creating of ineffective propaganda, issues mobilizing supporters, and trouble spreading a positive message to voters. US intelligence reports stated that supporters believed that Alessandri could win using his name alone and spent most of

1900-479: The requirements for becoming a Senator . In addition, the president must have the right to vote as a fully Chilean citizen , which includes being at least 18 years of age, not having been sentenced to a severe punishment, not having lost the right to vote due to insanity, not having been tried or condemned for a serious crime or terrorist conduct, nor condemned by the Constitutional Court under Article 8 of

1950-400: The state department, making recommendations on how to handle involvement. On many occasions he expressed that he strongly believed that Allende was a major threat to the United States. He believed that an anti-Allende campaign was necessary to prevent the formation of a Leninist state in Chile, and even advocated the further expansion of it throughout the election. A major basis for expanding it

2000-399: The third Sunday of November of the year immediately before the end of the administration of the president then holding office. Should there be more than two candidates in the presidential election, none of them obtaining more than half of the votes validly cast, a new election shall be held. The second election ("balloting"), in the manner determined by law, shall be held the fourth Sunday after

2050-484: The two candidates who had received the most votes: Allende and Alessandri. In the three previous instances since 1932 where this situation had arisen, Congress had simply chosen the candidate with the highest number of votes. Former President Alessandri, in fact, had been elected in 1958 with 31.6% of the popular vote, defeating Allende. However, in this case, there was an active campaign against Allende's confirmation by Congress, including an intensified propaganda effort by

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2100-468: Was a CIA operation that did not involve the State Department or Department of Defense , consisting of forming and supporting a group within the Chilean military who would stage a coup. Circumstantially, Track I was not possible, so the United States moved forward with Project FUBELT. As none of the candidates received an absolute majority in the public vote, the National Congress had to decide between

2150-402: Was a career politician and served as the 27th president of Chile from 1958 to 1964, until the constitution barred him from succeeding himself. He was the prior administration to Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei. His conservative independent platform represented voters who were concerned by the reforms Frei had implemented over the course of his administration. Due to his prestige of formerly being

2200-501: Was hurt by his continued insistence on forming a coalition, as well as directly criticizing and attacking the Christian Democratic Party's own bills and the Frei administration's reforms. Voters often turned away from him due to his confusing campaign platform coming off as a more convoluted way of implementing socialism compared to instead electing Marxist Allende. Prior to running in the 1970 election, Jorge Alessandri

2250-435: Was more precisely targeted. Allende made a personal request for Soviet money through his personal contact, KGB officer Svyatoslav Kuznetsov, who urgently came to Chile from Mexico City to help Allende. The original allocation of money for these elections through the KGB was $ 400,000, and an additional personal subsidy of $ 50,000 directly to Allende. It is believed that help from KGB was a decisive factor, because Allende won by

2300-420: Was possible, as seen with Jorge Alessandri (president 1958-1964) running a close second in the momentous election of 1970 , although ultimately it did not occur. In the original text of the 1980 constitution, the president served for an eight-year term without the possibility of immediate reelection. Some transitory disposals, fixed during the military dictatorship of the general Augusto Pinochet , allowed

2350-485: Was shot while resisting a kidnapping attempt by a group led by General Roberto Viaux . Schneider, hospitalized as a result, succumbed to his wounds three days later. The CIA had supported Viaux's kidnapping plan through Project FUBELT. Schneider was known for defending the "constitutionalist" doctrine , which held that the army's role is exclusively professional and aimed at protecting the country's sovereignty, not interfering in politics. He had vehemently opposed organizing

2400-501: Was six years) allows for synchronized parliamentary and presidential elections. The president's official seat is the La Moneda Palace in the capital Santiago . Michelle Bachelet was the first female president of Chile and served from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018. Since 2022, Gabriel Boric is the current president, having won the 2021 Chilean general election and taking office on 11 March 2022. The origins of Chile as

2450-407: Was the trends that were occurring in the election, namely the rapid decline of Alessandri's campaign, the continued stagnation of Tomic's, and the growing support of Allende, much of which came from voters moving away from Alessandri and Tomic. He did not believe that the people of Chile or US private business would be able to do enough to stop Allende's election. Korry was very actively involved in

2500-539: Was very inefficient. CIA director Richard Helms complained that he was ordered by the White House to "beat somebody with nobody". Although the 40 Committee had decided not to support any candidate directly, the CIA did help US companies in funding candidates. In total, US businesses spend about $ 700,000; half of that sum was provided by the International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation (ITT). KGB money

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