results: Sebastian PINERA Echenique elected president; percent of vote - Sebastian PINERA Echenique 51.6%; Eduardo FREI 48.4%
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (38 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve eight-year terms; one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 13 December 2009 (next to be held in December 2013); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 13 December 2009 (next to be held in December 2013)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPD 9 (PDC 4, PPD 3, PS 2), APC 9 (RN 6, UDI 3); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CC 58 (UDI 37, RN 18, other 3), CPD 57 (PDC 19, PPD 18, PS 11, PRSD 5, PC 3, other 1), PRI 3, independent 2
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is elected every three years by the 20-member court); Constitutional Tribunal (eight-members - two each from the Senate, Chamber of Deputies, Supreme Court, and National Security Council - review the constitutionality of laws approved by Congress)
Political parties and leaders:
Broad Social Movement or MAS; Clean Chile Vote Happy or CLVF
(including Broad Social Movement, Country Force, and Regionalist
Party of Independents or PRI); Coalition for Change or CC (formerly
known as the Alliance for Chile (Alianza) or APC) (including
National Renewal or RN [Carlos LARRAIN Pena], Independent Democratic
Union or UDI [Juan Antonio COLOMA Correa], and Chile First [Vlado
MIROSEVIC]); Coalition of Parties for Democracy (Concertacion) or
CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Ignacio WALKER],
Party for Democracy or PPD [Carolina TOHA Morales], Radical Social
Democratic Party or PRSD [Jose Antonio GOMEZ Urrutia], and Socialist
Party or PS [Osvaldo ANDRADE]); Partido Ecologista del Sur; Together
We Can Do More (including Communist Party or PC [Guillermo TEILLIER
del Valle], and Humanist Party or PH [Danilo MONTEVERDE])
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Roman Catholic Church, particularly conservative groups such as Opus Dei; United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations
other: revitalized university student federations at all major universities
International organization participation:
APEC, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA,
Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, RG, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo FERNANDOIS Vohringer
chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 785–1746
FAX: [1] (202) 887–5579
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Alejandro D. WOLFF
embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago
mailing address: APO AA 34033
telephone: [56] (2) 330–3000
FAX: [56] (2) 330–3710, 330–3160
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence
note: design was influenced by the US flag
National anthem:
name: "Himno Nacional de Chile" (National Anthem of Chile)
lyrics/music: Eusebio LILLO Robles and Bernardo DE VERA y Pintado/Ramon CARNICER y Battle
note: music adopted 1828, original lyrics adopted 1818, adapted lyrics adopted 1847; under Augusto PINOCHET"s military rule, a verse glorifying the army was added; however, as a protest, some citizens refused to sing this verse; it was removed when democracy was restored in 1990
Economy ::Chile
Economy - overview:
Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade and a reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. Exports account for more than one-fourth of GDP, with commodities making up some three-quarters of total exports. Copper alone provides one-third of government revenue. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991–97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the situation in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. In the years since then, growth has averaged 4% per year. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. Chile claims to have more bilateral or regional trade agreements than any other country. It has 57 such agreements (not all of them full free trade agreements), including with the European Union, Mercosur, China, India, South
