The Rise of Democracy in Chile

The Rise of Democracy in Chile

General Augusto Pinochet gained power during a blood-filled coup during 1973 when his militaristic, authoritarian rule began. He continued to rule in a brutal regime of repression and human rights abuse until 1989 when his regime was lifted in favor of a more democratic system. Since 1990, Chile seems to be on the right track to re-establishing a once strong democracy that will continue to strengthen in the future. The three factors that have increased the likelihood of this success are the tripartite party system, institutionalization of the party system, and reduction of the ideological polarization that gripped the country. Finally, some of the elements of change were present to ensure a successful push to instate democratic principles.

Chile’s tripartite system has been most of the strongest factors in the success of its democracy. Before the military coup of Pinochet in 1973, the tripartite system was seen as the anchor of the Chile’s democracy, which was arguably seen as the strongest in Latin America. When Pinochet took over, these systems remained dormant, but they were not dismantled because they did not serve as a major obstacle to the democratic demise in 1973. When Pinochet’s rule was lifted, this party system reemerged with little change from the pre-Pinochet era. Within this system, there is a clear right, left, and center which all are able to reign in a solid proportion of votes. After Pinochet’s rule, these parties have led to the increased representation for the citizens, and the increased competition between the political parties. These two characteristics lie at the core of a good democratic foundation. Furthermore, the fact that the party system was still in e...

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...future. In addition, the elements for a proper change in democracy were present in that the political parties were still intact, military reduced severity of their actions, and the country made it clear that it did not want socialism to reoccur. Furthermore, the institutionalization of political parties, demise of ideology based government, and the tripartite system have provided an infrastructure within Chile that should be strong enough to allow democracy to continue into the future. Many argue that the right will have to learn to adjust their ideological base if the democracy is to survive, but it will surely happen in that the continued pressure from the other parties will force them to make the eventual change. This will lead to a stronger democracy in Chile as the country seeks to emerge from the immediate post-Pinochet era into the twenty-first century.