The current Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile, enacted on September 17, 2005, is a severely amended version of the 1980 Constitution, approved by Chilean voters in a tightly controlled and highly irregular plebiscite in September 11, 1980, under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The 1980 Constitution, in its permanent dispositions, gave the President of the Republic a large amount of power; however, some of these dispositions, such as the power of dissolving the Lower Chamber of Congress and serving eight year terms with possibility of reelection, were modified or eliminated after 1990, when the country regained its democracy and the Congress was reestablished. It created some controversial new institutions, such as the Constitutional Tribunal and the National Security Council (COSENA). September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military government that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. ... Congress building The Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile (Chiles bicameral Congress. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Controversy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A controversy is a contentious dispute, a disagreement in opinions over which parties are actively arguing. ...

In its temporary dispositions, the document ordered the transition from the former military government, with Augusto Pinochet as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta (formed by the heads of the Navy, Air Force, National Police, and a representative of the Army, the head of the Army being president of the republic), to a civil one, with a time frame of eight years, during which the Legislative Power would still be the Military Junta. It set the first eight year presidential term for Pinochet, with a plebiscite in the eighth year, in which only one candidate, nominated by the Junta, would be accepted or not. The candidate, as expected, was Pinochet himself. While the steps to follow in the case of a triumph of the "yes" option, which the document obviously anticipated, were clearly delineated, the steps for the "no" triumph were less so, but still clear enough that no serious doubt emerged when the "no" option actually was victorious in the 1988 plebiscite. General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military government that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. ... Junta may refer to: The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines a junta as a body of persons acting towards a common aim, especially political clique or faction after revolution or coupe détat. ... U.S. Navy supercarrier USS Nimitz on November 3, 2003. ... An air force is a military organization that primarily operates in air-based war. ... Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force (for example, the Peoples Liberation Army of China consists of ground force, navy and air force branches). ... A republic is a state or country having a government whose political power depends solely on the consent of the people governed. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After the plebiscite, several modifications to the Constitution were agreed and subjected to referendum, among them a simplification on the mechanism of future modification. Amendment has at least two meanings: An amendment is a formal alteration to any official document or record, typically with the aim of improving it. ...

In 2005 over 50 reforms were approved, which eliminated the remaining undemocratic areas of the text, such as the existence of non-elected Senators (institutional senators, or senators for life) and the inability of the President to remove the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. These reforms led the President to controversially declare Chile's transition to democracy as complete. 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Timeline of Constitutions

• Reglamento para el arreglo de la Autoridad Ejecutiva Provisoria de Chile 1811
• Reglamento Constitucional 1812
• Reglamento para el gobierno Provisorio 1814
• Constitución de 1818
• Constitución de 1822
• Constitución de 1823
• Constitución de 1828
• Constitución de 1833 (formally considered Chile's first Constitution)
• Constitución de 1925
• Constitución de 1980
• Constitución de 2005

References

• Brief review of Chile's constitutional history - Chile's Library of Congress (in Spanish)

External links

• 2005 Constitution (PDF version) (Spanish original)
• 1980 Constitution (English translation of the original un-amended version of September 11, 1980)
• Text of Chilean constitutions - Library of Congress of Chile (Spanish original)
• "Untying the knot" (The Economist)