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Chile Government

What is the capital of Chile?

Country Name Chile
Full Country Name Republic of Chile
Local - Long República de Chile
Local - Short Chile
Etymology- history of name derivation of the name is unclear, but it may come from the Mapuche word "chilli" meaning "limit of the earth" or from the Quechua "chiri" meaning "cold"
Government Type presidential republic
Capital Name Santiago; note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature
Capital - geographic coordinate 33 27 S, 70 40 W
Capital Time Difference UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time +1hr, begins second Sunday in August; ends second Sunday in May; note - Punta Arenas observes DST throughout the year

time zone note: Chile has three time zones: the continental portion at UTC-3; the southern Magallanes region, which does not use daylight savings time and remains at UTC-3 for the summer months; and Easter Island at UTC-5
Independence 18 September 1810 (from Spain)
National Holiday Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Constitution history: many previous; latest adopted 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; a referendum held on 4 September 2022 to implement a new constitution was defeated by nearly 62% of voters; a second 50-member constitutional council elected in early May 2023 is charged with producing another draft constitution for submission to a national referendum by 17 December 2023

amendments: proposed by members of either house of the National Congress or by the president of the republic; passage requires at least three-fifths majority vote of the membership in both houses and approval by the president; passage of amendments to constitutional articles, such as the republican form of government, basic rights and freedoms, the Constitutional Tribunal, electoral justice, the Council of National Security, or the constitutional amendment process, requires at least two-third majority vote by both houses of Congress and approval by the president; the president can opt to hold a referendum when Congress and the president disagree on an amendment; amended many times, last in 2020

Chile Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Chile Government and Politics

Who is the president of Chile?

Executive Branch: chief of state: President Gabriel BORIC (since 11 March 2022); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Gabriel BORIC (since 11 March 2022)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 21 November 2021 with a runoff held on 19 December 2021 (next to be held on 23 November 2025 with runoff if needed on 20 December)

election results:

2021: Gabriel BORIC elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Jose Antonio KAST (FSC) 27.9%; Gabriel BORIC (AD) 25.8%; Franco PARISI (PDG) 12.8%; Sebastian SICHEL (ChP+) 12.8%; Yasna PROVOSTE (New Social Pact) 11.6%; other 9.1%; percent of vote in second round - Gabriel BORIC 55.9%; Jose Antonio KAST 44.1%

2017: Sebastian PINERA Echenique elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Sebastian PINERA Echenique (independent) 36.6%; Alejandro GUILLIER (independent) 22.7%; Beatriz SANCHEZ (independent) 20.3%; Jose Antonio KAST (independent) 7.9%; Carolina GOIC (PDC) 5.9%; Marco ENRIQUEZ-OMINAMI (PRO) 5.7%; other 0.9%; percent of vote in second round - Sebastian PINERA Echenique 54.6%, Alejandro GUILLIER 45.4%
Citizenship Criteria: citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Legal System: civil law system influenced by several West European civil legal systems; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Tribunal
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of:

Senate or Senado (50 seats); members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open party-list proportional representation vote to serve 8-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 4 years)

Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (155 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open party-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

Senate - last held on 21 November 2021 (next to be held on 23 November 2025)

Chamber of Deputies - last held on 21 November 2021 (next to be held on 23 November 2025)

election results:

Senate - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - ChP+ 12 (RN 5, UDI 5, EVOPOLI 2), NPS 8 (PS 4, PPD 2, PDC 2), AD 4 (PCCh 2, FREVS 2), PLR 1, independent 2; note - total composition of the Senate as of 1 May 2022: seats by party/coalition - ChP+ 24 (RN 12, UDI 9, EVOPOLI 3), NPS 18 (PS 7, PPD 6, PDC 5), AD 6 (PCCh 2, FREVS 2, RD 2), PLR 1, independent 1; composition as of January 2024 - men 37, women 13, percent of women 26%

Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - ChP+ 53 (RN 25, UDI 23, EVOPOLI 4, PRI 1), AD 37 (PCCh 12, CS 9, RD 8, Commons 6, FREVS 2), NPS 37 (PS 13, PDC 8, PPD 7, PL 4, PRSD 4, CIU 1), FSC 15 (PLR 14, PCC 1), PDG 6, PH 3, PEV 2, IU 1, independent 1; composition - men 100, women 55, percent of women 35.5%; note - total National Congress percent of women 33.2% as of January 2024
Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of a court president and 20 members or ministros); Constitutional Court (consists of 10 members and is independent of the rest of the judiciary); Elections Qualifying Court (consists of 5 members)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president and judges (ministers) appointed by the president of the republic and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 70; Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 by the Supreme Court, 3 by the president of the republic, 2 by the Chamber of Deputies, and 2 by the Senate; members serve 9-year terms with partial membership replacement every 3 years (the court reviews constitutionality of legislation); Elections Qualifying Court members appointed by lottery - 1 by the former president or vice president of the Senate and 1 by the former president or vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, 2 by the Supreme Court, and 1 by the Appellate Court of Valparaiso; members appointed for 4-year terms

subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; oral criminal tribunals; military tribunals; local police courts; specialized tribunals and courts in matters such as family, labor, customs, taxes, and electoral affairs
Regions or States: 16 regions (regiones, singular - region)

Aysen, Antofagasta, Araucania, Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Rios, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena (Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica), Maule, Nuble, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso

note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Political Parties and Leaders: Approve Dignity (Apruebo Dignidad) coalition or AD (includes PC, FA, and FREVS) [Gabriel BORIC]

Broad Front Coalition (Frente Amplio) or FA (includes RD, CS, and Comunes) [Gonzalo WINTER]

Broad Social Movement of Leftist Citizens (includes former MAS and Izquierda Ciudadana) [Fernando ZAMORANO]

Chile We Can Do More or ChP+ [Sebastian SICHEL] (coalition includes EVOPOLI, PRI, RN, UDI)

Christian Conservative Party or PCC [Antaris VARELA]

Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Carmen FREI Ruiz-Tagle]

Christian Social Front or FSC [Jose Antonio KAST] (includes PCC, PLR)

Citizens or CIU [María Ignacia GOMEZ Martinez]

Commons (Comunes) [Jorge RAMIREZ]

Communist Party of Chile or PCCh [Guillermo TEILLIER del Valle]

Democratic Revolution or RD [Margarita PORTUGUEZ]

Green Ecological Party or PEV [Felix GONZALEZ] (dissolved 7 February 2022)

Humanist Party or PH [Octavio GONZALEZ]

Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Javier MACAYA]

Independent Regionalist Democratic Party or PRI [Hugo ORTIZ de Filippi]

Liberal Party (Partido Liberal de Chile) or PL [Patricio MORALES]

National Renewal or RN [Francisco CHAHUAN]

New Social Pact or NPS [Yasna PROVOSTE] (includes PDC, PL, PPD, PRSD, PS)

Party for Democracy or PPD [Natalia PERGIENTILI Domenech]

Party of the People or PDG [Franco Aldo PARISI Fernandez]

Political Evolution or EVOPOLI [Luz POBLETE Coddou]

Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Carlos MALDONADO Curti]

Republican Party or PLR [Rojo EDWARDS]

Social Convergence or CS [Alondra ARELLANO Hernandez]

Social Green Regionalist Federation or FREVS [Flavia TORREALBA Diaz]

Socialist Party or PS [Alvaro Antonio ELIZALDE Soto]

United Independents or IU [Cristian Alejandro CONTRERAS Radovic]
International Law Organization Participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation: APEC, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OECD (enhanced engagement), OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, PCA, PROSUR, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Gabriel VALDES Soublette (since 7 June 2022)

chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746

FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579

email address and website:

echile.eeuu@minrel.gob.cl

https://chile.gob.cl/estados-unidos/en/

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic Representation from US: chief of mission: Ambassador Bernadette M. MEEHAN (since 30 September 2022)

embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago

mailing address: 3460 Santiago Place, Washington DC 20521-3460

telephone: [56] (2) 2330-3000

FAX: [56] (2) 2330-3710

email address and website:

SantiagoUSA@state.gov

https://cl.usembassy.gov/
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