Overview

Chilean culture is located within the confines of the Republic of Chile, although today some 800,000 Chileans are living abroad. Most of them left the country since the mid-1970s as a result of the political and economic hardships of the military regime that ruled from 1973 to 1990. Chile is a large and narrow strip situated in southwest South America, bounded on the north by Peru, on the east by Bolivia and Argentina, and on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Chile has a longitude of 2,650 miles making of it one of the longest countries in the world. Chile has a population of 15,017,800 inhabitants with an annual growth rate of 1.8 percent. The national population density is 46.5 persons per square mile. Almost six million people live in the metropolitan region of Santiago, while the northern and southern regions are sparsely populated.

The majority of Chileans are of mixed European-indigenous descent (“mestizos,” though this term is not in use in Chile). Some Chileans are of European ancestry (mainly from Spanish, German, Italian, British, Croatian, and French origins, or combinations there of). Since the late 1980s, the country’s economic prosperity and sociopolitical stability have attracted an increasing number of immigrants from Korea and from other Latin American countries (largely from Peru, Argentina, and Cuba). The official language of Chile is Spanish.

Economics

Currently, Chile is a high-income country; the current GNI per capita is 15,230 USD. 14.4% of Chilean citizens live underneath the poverty line. In 2012 it was recorded that Chile’s largest sectors were mining, business services, and manufacturing.

Politics

Current Chilean politics consist of a Representative democratic republic, involving a president and a multi party system. In recent years Chile has seen two major Constitutions; one that established many authoritarian like practices signed by Augusto Pinochet in 1981 and the one that reversed many of Pinochet’s ruling signed by Ricardo Lago in 2005.

Modern Terrorism

Regarding Crime, the country has an annual murder rate of 1.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. The Chilean police force, Carabineros, enjoys high prestige among the public; they are well respected and often described as “incorruptible.” Chile is also known for its high imprisonment rate; statistics state that 165 out of every 100,000 citizens will be imprisoned.

Modern terrorism in Chile is mainly based around political and economic issues. This is because the population in Chile is extremely homogeneous; there are no major cultural or religious differences between groups because they all share the same background.

In Chile there have been 200 bombings from 2005-2014; so far there has only been one casualty. Almost all bombs used by terrorists are homemade; crafted using a mixture of a fire extinguisher and gunpowder. Common targets include banks, businesses and political headquarters. It is very hard to pinpoint the source of these attacks; around 80 different groups have claimed responsibility for these actions.

State Sponsored Terrorism

In the past Chile was known for its problems with state sponsored terrorism. Augusto Pinochet held power from September 11, 1973, until March 11, 1990. During this period he enacted a systematic suppression of all political dissidence. Under Pinochet, 28,000 were tortured, 2,279 executed, and 1,248 went missing. Pinochet feared his political enemies causing him to live in a state of paranoia. He drafted a Constitution that established an eight-year presidential term, permitted re-elections, and gave the President of the Republic an immense amount of power. Pinochet’s main objectives were to silence dissent through murder, weed out military officials who were not aligned with his own regime, and establish fear within leadership ranks. It was during this period that Chile was most vulnerable to terrorism and political violence. Eventually a plebiscite was held, and 56% of the voting body ruled to have Pinochet removed from office. He was eventually arrested on October 10, 1998 while visiting London.