Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution.

Chile's first experiment with self-government, the " Patria Vieja " ( old republic, 1810 – 1814 ), was led by José Miguel Carrera, an aristocrat then in his mid-twenties.

He was a Marxist physician and member of Chile's Socialist Party, who headed the " Popular Unity " ( UP or " Unidad Popular ") coalition of the Socialist, Communist, Radical, and Social-Democratic Parties, along with dissident Christian Democrats, the Popular Unitary Action Movement ( MAPU ), and the Independent Popular Action.

According to Allende's KGB file, Allende " was made to understand the necessity of reorganising Chile's army and intelligence services, and of setting up a relationship between Chile's and the USSR's intelligence services ".

According to the CIA World Factbook, during the early 1990s, Chile's " reputation as a role model for economic reform " was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio Aylwin, who took over from the military in 1990, deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government.

Allende also intended to improve the socio-economic welfare of Chile's poorest citizens ; a key element was to provide employment, either in the new nationalised enterprises or on public work projects.

The possibility of Allende winning Chile's 1970 election was deemed a disaster by a US administration which wanted to protect US business interests and prevent any spread of Communism during the Cold War.

Material based on reports from the Mitrokhin Archive, the KGB said of Allende that " he was made to understand the necessity of reorganising Chile's army and intelligence services, and of setting up a relationship between Chile's and the USSR's intelligence services ".

At the time Bolivia was under threat from Chile's fleet but had no navy.

* 1978: Michael Townley in a sworn declaration indicated that sarin was produced by biochemist Eugenio Berríos for DINA, the secret police of Chile's Pinochet regime.

Although Santiago is Chile's official capital, the National Congress of Chile was established in Valparaíso in 1990.

At the onset of the Chilean War of Independence, the First Government Junta was proclaimed on 18 September 1810, marking Chile's first step toward independence.

Other versions of this story say this happened in the 19th century, or that the Chilean flag was placed second after the French flag ; there are even variations that talk about Chile's national anthem, placing it either in the first place or second, after La Marseillaise.

The flag of Texas was designed and adopted on 25 January 1839 ; whereas Chile's flag was adopted 28 years earlier on 18 October 1817.

On March 31, 2010 he was designated President of Chile's National Innovation Council for Competitiveness by President Sebastián Piñera.

On March 31, 2010 he was designated President of Chile's National Innovation Council for Competitiveness by President Piñera.

A panoply of provincial and municipal banks were sold to financial giants abroad ( sometimes over the opposition of their respective governors and mayors ) and, taking a page from Chile's successful experiment, the mandatory state pensions system was opened to choice through the authorization of for private pension schemes.

Chile's annual GDP growth was 3. 2 % in 2008 and had averaged 4. 8 % from 2004 to 2008.

" According to the British newspaper The Guardian, "... the October 1970 plot against Chile's President-elect Salvador Allende ... was the direct result of a plea for action a month earlier by Donald Kendall, chairman of PepsiCo, in two telephone calls to the company's former lawyer, President Richard Nixon.

In 2010 it was announced that Lollapalooza would debut overseas, with a branch of the festival staged in Chile's capital Santiago on April 2 – 3, 2011 where they partnered up with Santiago-based company Lotus.

In 2010, it was announced that Lollapalooza would debut in South America, with a branch of the festival staged in Chile's capital Santiago on April 2 – 3, 2011.

Based on the number of people killed per capita, Ríos Montt was probably the most violent dictator in Latin America's recent history, more so than even other notorious dictators such as Chile's Augusto Pinochet, Argentina's Jorge Rafael Videla, and Bolivia's Hugo Banzer.

Chile's financial sector has grown quickly in recent years, with a banking reform law approved in 1997 that broadened the scope of permissible foreign activity for Chilean banks.

A White House press release in November 2000 acknowledged that " actions approved by the U. S. government during this period aggravated political polarization and affected Chile's long tradition of democratic elections ..."

The Popular Unity platform included the nationalization of U. S. interests in Chile's major copper mines, the advancement of workers ' rights, deepening of the Chilean land reform, reorganization of the national economy into socialized, mixed, and private sectors, a foreign policy of " international solidarity " and national independence and a new institutional order ( the " people's state " or " poder popular "), including the institution of a unicameral congress.

These successes allowed the government to concentrate in 1996 and 1997 on major structural reforms such as the implementation of a fully funded pension system ( partly modelled after Chile's pension system with major modifications ), reform of higher education, and the creation of a national treasury.

Chile's national hero, Bernardo O ' Higgins, was born in Chillán in 1778.

The island's only airport, Mataveri International Airport, is served by LAN Airlines, Chile's national carrier, which offers direct flights to Santiago, Papeete and Lima.

Chile's national flower, the copihue ( Lapageria rosea ) is a pioneer species that grows in disturbed areas of the Valdivian rain forest.

Chile's army was first established on December 2, 1810, after the first national meeting of the governmen of Chile.

* " Cueca de Joaquín Murieta " recorded by both Víctor Jara and Quilapayún, in the style of Chile's national dance, the cueca.

Beer saw this as a unique opportunity to implement his ideas of cybernetic management on a national scale, and also sympathized with the stated ideals of Chilean socialism, which aimed to maintain Chile's democratic system and the autonomy of workers instead of imposing a Soviet-style system of top-down command and control.

After a 2-2 tie against Venezuela in Santiago and going to Brazil to lose 2-4 against them, the Chile national football team finally achieved qualification to the 2010 FIFA World Cup by defeating Colombia 4-2 which was also Chile's first ever away win against the Colombian team.

Chile's reforms under the government of Augusto Pinochet are held as the origin of neoliberal shock therapy.

The first special session, held on 11 April 2005 at the OAS headquarters in Washington, ended in a tie between Chile's Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza and Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, and forced the Organization to schedule a second round of elections for 2 May 2005 to end the unprecedented stalemate.

On September 2005, Chile's Supreme Court would accept the lifting of Pinochet's immunity on this case.

Manuel José Blanco y Calvo de Encalada ( April 21, 1790 – September 5, 1876 ) was a Vice-Admiral in the Chilean Navy, a political figure, and Chile's first President ( Provisional )( 1826 ).

In August 2007, a Catholic priest, Luis Jorquera, then chaplain at a military detention center set up in Chile's north after September 11, 1973, was charged with involvement in the Caravan of Death.

It was officially re-inaugurated on September 12, 2010, during Chile's bicentennial festivities.

After promoting a plan of free market reforms that he considered could double Chile's annual rate of growth to 7 %, he became, first, Secretary of Labor and Social Security ( 1978 – 1980 ), and then, Secretary of Mining ( 1980 – 1981 ), in the cabinet of General Augusto Pinochet.

On November 4, 1980, Chile's legislature passed Piñera's Social Security Reform ( D. L 3. 500 and D. L 3. 501 ) proposal, that allowed workers to opt out of the government-run pension system and instead put the former payroll tax ( 10 % of wages ) in a privately managed Personal Retirement Account ( PRA ).