Chile: Democratization through Constitutional Reforms

The process of democratic consolidation in Chile went hand in hand with reforms of the 1980 constitution, which had been designed by the military regime. After the military coup in 1973, General Augusto Pinochet imposed a constitution establishing a set of anti-democratic institutions and procedures, which were rejected by most political actors at that time. The opposition forces organized a common front, the Parties for Democracy (Concertacion de Partidos por la Democracia, CPD) to promote free elections and the transformation of the country’s ruling institutions. In this context, the transition to democracy involved two interconnected processes: a formal transfer of power from the military regime to a democratically elected government, and the modification of essential features of the constitution of the military regime to establish a free and open political system.