PABLO NERUDA text MANUSCRIPT HANDWRITTEN NOBEL PRIZE SCARCE CHILEAN POET

Description: Neruda, Pablo. Handwritten text Text handwritten in blue ink with corrections handwritten in green ink. With Pablo Neruda’s signature. Republic of Chile, Senate letterhead. Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles Pablo Neruda (/nəˈruːdə/;[1] Spanish: [ˈpaβlo neˈɾuða] (listen))(born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature.[2] Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924). Neruda occupied many diplomatic positions in various countries during his lifetime and served a term as a Senator for the Chilean Communist Party. When President Gabriel González Videla outlawed communism in Chile in 1948, a warrant was issued for Neruda's arrest. Friends hid him for months in the basement of a house in the port city of Valparaíso, and in 1949 he escaped through a mountain pass near Maihue Lake into Argentina; he would not return to Chile for more than three years. He was a close advisor to Chile's socialist President Salvador Allende, and, when he got back to Chile after accepting his Nobel Prize in Stockholm, Allende invited him to read at the Estadio Nacional before 70,000 people.[3] Neruda was hospitalized with cancer in September 1973, at the time of the coup d'état led by Augusto Pinochet that overthrew Allende's government, but returned home after a few days when he suspected a doctor of injecting him with an unknown substance for the purpose of murdering him on Pinochet's orders.[4] Neruda died at his home in Isla Negra on 23 September 1973, just hours after leaving the hospital. Although it was long reported that he died of heart failure, the Interior Ministry of the Chilean government issued a statement in 2015 acknowledging a Ministry document indicating the government's official position that "it was clearly possible and highly likely" that Neruda was killed as a result of "the intervention of third parties".[5] However, an international forensic test conducted in 2013 rejected allegations that he was poisoned. It was concluded that he had been suffering from prostate cancer.[6][7] In 2023, after forensics testing, it was discovered that the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, some strains of which produce toxins, were found in his body.[8][9] The bacteria were likely injected by medical personnel while Neruda was in a hospital, as he had told his chauffeur Manuel Araya on a phone call shortly before his death.[10] Neruda is often considered the national poet of Chile, and his works have been popular and influential worldwide. The Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez once called him "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language",[11] and the critic Harold Bloom included Neruda as one of the writers central to the Western tradition in his book The Western Canon. Early life Neruda as a young manRicardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto was born on 12 July 1904, in Parral, Chile,[12] a city in Linares Province, now part of the greater Maule Region, some 350 km south of Santiago.[13] His father, José del Carmen Reyes Morales, was a railway employee, and his mother Rosa Neftalí Basoalto Opazo was a school teacher who died two months after he was born on 14 September. On 26 September, he was baptized in the parish of San Jose de Parral.[14] Neruda grew up in Temuco with Rodolfo and a half-sister, Laura Herminia "Laurita", from one of his father's extramarital affairs (her mother was Aurelia Tolrà, a Catalan woman).[15] He composed his first poems in the winter of 1914.[16] Neruda was an atheist.[17] Literary careersomething started in my soul,fever or forgotten wings,and I made my own way,decipheringthat fireand wrote the first faint line,faint without substance, purenonsense,pure wisdom,of someone who knows nothing,and suddenly I sawthe heavensunfastenedand open. From "Poetry", Memorial de Isla Negra (1964).Trans. Alastair Reid.[18]Neruda's father opposed his son's interest in writing and literature, but he received encouragement from others, including the future Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral, who headed the local school. On 18 July 1917, at the age of 13, he published his first work, an essay titled "Entusiasmo y perseverancia" ("Enthusiasm and Perseverance") in the local daily newspaper La Mañana, and signed it Neftalí Reyes.[19] From 1918 to mid-1920, he published numerous poems, such as "Mis ojos" ("My eyes"), and essays in local magazines as Neftalí Reyes. In 1919, he participated in the literary contest Juegos Florales del Maule and won third place for his poem "Comunión ideal" or "Nocturno ideal". By mid-1920, when he adopted the pseudonym Pablo Neruda, he was a published author of poems, prose, and journalism. He is thought to have derived his pen name from the Czech poet Jan Neruda,[20][21][22] though other sources say the true inspiration was Moravian violinist Wilma Neruda, whose name appears in Arthur Conan Doyle's novel A Study in Scarlet.[23][24] In 1921, at the age of 16, Neruda moved to Santiago[18] to study French at the Universidad de Chile with the intention of becoming a teacher. However, he was soon devoting all his time to writing poems and with the help of well-known writer Eduardo Barrios,[25] he managed to meet and impress Don Carlos George Nascimento, the most important publisher in Chile at the time. In 1923, his first volume of verse, Crepusculario (Book of Twilights), was published by Editorial Nascimento, followed the next year by Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and A Desperate Song),[18] a collection of love poems that was controversial for its eroticism, especially considering its author's young age. Both works were critically acclaimed and have been translated into many languages. A second edition of Veinte poemas appeared in 1932. In the years since its publication, millions of copies have been sold and it became Neruda's best-known work. Almost 100 years later, Veinte Poemas is still the best-selling poetry book in the Spanish language.[18] By the age of 20, Neruda had established an international reputation as a poet but faced poverty.[18] In 1926, he published the collection tentativa del hombre infinito (venture of the infinite man) and the novel El habitante y su esperanza (The Inhabitant and His Hope).[26] In 1927, out of financial desperation, he took an honorary consulship in Rangoon, the capital of the British colony of Burma, then administered from New Delhi as a province of British India.[26] Later, mired in isolation and loneliness, he worked in Colombo (Ceylon), Batavia (Java), and Singapore.[27] In Batavia the following year, he met and married (6 December 1930) his first wife, a Dutch bank employee named Marijke Antonieta Hagenaar Vogelzang (born as Marietje Antonia Hagenaar),[28] known as Maruca.[29] While he was in the diplomatic service, Neruda read large amounts of verse, experimented with many different poetic forms, and wrote the first two volumes of Residencia en la Tierra, which includes many surrealist poems. Diplomatic and political careerSpanish Civil WarAfter returning to Chile, Neruda was given diplomatic posts in Buenos Aires and then Barcelona, Spain.[30] He later succeeded Gabriela Mistral as consul in Madrid, where he became the center of a lively literary circle, befriending such writers as Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, and the Peruvian poet César Vallejo.[30] His only offspring, his daughter Malva Marina (Trinidad) Reyes, was born in Madrid in 1934, the product of his first marriage to María Antonia Hagenaar Vogelzang. The child was plagued with severe health problems, in particular suffering from hydrocephalus.[31] She died in 1943 (nine years old), having spent most of her short life with a foster family in the Netherlands after Neruda ignored and abandoned her, forcing her mother to work to solely support her care.[32][33][34][35] Half that time was during the Nazi occupation of Holland, when the Nazi view of birth defects was that they denoted genetic inferiority. During this period, Neruda became estranged from his wife and instead began a relationship with Delia del Carril [es], an aristocratic Argentine artist who was 20 years his senior. The child was repudiated, mocked and abandoned by her father and died in utter indigence when she was 8 years old in war devastated and Nazi occupied Netherlands.[36] Grave of Malva Marina, sole daughter of Pablo NerudaAs Spain became engulfed in civil war, Neruda became intensely politicized for the first time. His experiences during the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath moved him away from privately focused work in the direction of collective obligation. Neruda became an ardent Communist for the rest of his life. The radical leftist politics of his literary friends, as well as that of del Carril, were contributing factors, but the most important catalyst was the execution of García Lorca by forces loyal to the dictator Francisco Franco.[30] By means of his speeches and writings, Neruda threw his support behind the Spanish Republic, publishing the collection España en el corazón (Spain in Our Hearts, 1938). He lost his post as consul due to his political militancy.[30] In July 1937, he attended the Second International Writers' Congress, the purpose of which was to discuss the attitude of intellectuals to the war in Spain, held in Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid and attended by many writers including André Malraux, Ernest Hemingway and Stephen Spender.[37] Neruda's marriage to Vogelzang broke down and he eventually obtained a divorce in Mexico in 1943. His estranged wife moved to Monte Carlo to escape the hostilities in Spain and then to the Netherlands with their very ill only child, and he never saw either of them again.[38] After leaving his wife, Neruda lived with Delia del Carril in France, eventually marrying her (shortly after his divorce) in Tetecala in 1943; however, his new marriage was not recognized by Chilean authorities as his divorce from Vogelzang was deemed illegal.[39] Following the election of Pedro Aguirre Cerda (whom Neruda supported) as President of Chile in 1938, Neruda was appointed special Consul for Spanish emigrants in Paris. There he was responsible for what he called "the noblest mission I have ever undertaken": transporting 2,000 Spanish refugees who had been housed by the French in squalid camps to Chile on an old ship called the Winnipeg.[40] Neruda is sometimes charged with having selected only fellow Communists for emigration, to the exclusion of others who had fought on the side of the Republic.[41] Many Republicans and Anarchists were killed during the German invasion and occupation. Others deny these accusations, pointing out that Neruda chose only a few hundred of the 2,000 refugees personally; the rest were selected by the Service for the Evacuation of Spanish Refugees set up by Juan Negrín, President of the Spanish Republican Government in Exile. Mexican appointmentNeruda's next diplomatic post was as Consul General in Mexico City from 1940 to 1943.[42] While he was there, he married del Carril, and learned that his daughter Malva had died, aged eight, in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.[42] In 1940, after the failure of an assassination attempt against Leon Trotsky, Neruda arranged a Chilean visa for the Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros, who was accused of having been one of the conspirators in the assassination.[43] Neruda later said that he did it at the request of the Mexican President, Manuel Ávila Camacho. This enabled Siqueiros, then jailed, to leave Mexico for Chile, where he stayed in Neruda's private residence. In exchange for Neruda's assistance, Siqueiros spent over a year painting a mural in a school in Chillán. Neruda's relationship with Siqueiros attracted criticism, but Neruda dismissed the allegation that his intent had been to help an assassin as "sensationalist politico-literary harassment". Return to ChileIn 1943, after his return to Chile, Neruda made a tour of Peru, where he visited Machu Picchu,[44] an experience that later inspired Alturas de Macchu Picchu, a book-length poem in 12 parts that he completed in 1945 and which expressed his growing awareness of, and interest in, the ancient civilizations of the Americas. He explored this theme further in Canto General (1950). In Alturas, Neruda celebrated the achievement of Machu Picchu, but also condemned the slavery that had made it possible. In Canto XII, he called upon the dead of many centuries to be born again and to speak through him. Martín Espada, poet and professor of creative writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has hailed the work as a masterpiece, declaring that "there is no greater political poem". CommunismBolstered by his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, Neruda, like many left-leaning intellectuals of his generation, came to admire the Soviet Union of Joseph Stalin, partly for the role it played in defeating Nazi Germany and partly because of an idealist interpretation of Marxist doctrine.[45] This is echoed in poems such as "Canto a Stalingrado" (1942) and "Nuevo canto de amor a Stalingrado" (1943). In 1953, Neruda was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize. Upon Stalin's death that same year, Neruda wrote an ode to him, as he also wrote poems in praise of Fulgencio Batista, "Saludo a Batista" ("Salute to Batista"), and later to Fidel Castro. His fervent Stalinism eventually drove a wedge between Neruda and his long-time friend, Mexican poet Octavio Paz, who commented that "Neruda became more and more Stalinist, while I became less and less enchanted with Stalin."[46] Their differences came to a head after the Nazi-Soviet Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact of 1939, when they almost came to blows in an argument over Stalin. Although Paz still considered Neruda "The greatest poet of his generation", in an essay on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn he wrote that when he thinks of "Neruda and other famous Stalinist writers and poets, I feel the gooseflesh that I get from reading certain passages of the Inferno. No doubt they began in good faith [...] but insensibly, commitment by commitment, they saw themselves becoming entangled in a mesh of lies, falsehoods, deceits and perjuries, until they lost their souls."[47] On 15 July 1945, at Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, Neruda read to 100,000 people in honor of the Communist revolutionary leader Luís Carlos Prestes.[48] Neruda also called Vladimir Lenin the "great genius of this century", and in a speech he gave on 5 June 1946, he paid tribute to the late Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin, who for Neruda was "man of noble life", "the great constructor of the future", and "a comrade in arms of Lenin and Stalin".[49] Neruda later came to regret his fondness for the Soviet Union, explaining that "in those days, Stalin seemed to us the conqueror who had crushed Hitler's armies."[45] Of a subsequent visit to China in 1957, Neruda wrote: "What has estranged me from the Chinese revolutionary process has not been Mao Tse-tung but Mao Tse-tungism." He dubbed this Mao Tse-Stalinism: "the repetition of a cult of a Socialist deity."[45] Despite his disillusionment with Stalin, Neruda never lost his essential faith in Communist theory and remained loyal to "the Party". Anxious not to give ammunition to his ideological enemies, he would later refuse publicly to condemn the Soviet repression of dissident writers like Boris Pasternak and Joseph Brodsky, an attitude with which even some of his staunchest admirers disagreed.[50] Wikisource has original text related to this article:I AccuseOn 4 March 1945, Neruda was elected a Communist Senator for the northern provinces of Antofagasta and Tarapacá in the Atacama Desert.[51][52] He officially joined the Communist Party of Chile four months later.[42] In 1946, the Radical Party's presidential candidate, Gabriel González Videla, asked Neruda to act as his campaign manager. González Videla was supported by a coalition of left-wing parties and Neruda fervently campaigned on his behalf. Once in office, however, González Videla turned against the Communist Party and issued the Ley de Defensa Permanente de la Democracia (Law of Permanent Defense of the Democracy). The breaking point for Senator Neruda was the violent repression of a Communist-led miners' strike in Lota in October 1947, when striking workers were herded into island military prisons and a concentration camp in the town of Pisagua. Neruda's criticism of González Videla culminated in a dramatic speech in the Chilean senate on 6 January 1948, which became known as "Yo acuso" ("I accuse"), in the course of which he read out the names of the miners and their families who were imprisoned at the concentration camp.[53] In 1959, Neruda was present as Fidel Castro was honored at a welcoming ceremony offered by the Central University of Venezuela where he spoke to a massive gathering of students and read his Canto a Bolivar. Luis Báez summarized what Neruda said: "In this painful and victorious hour that the peoples of America live, my poem with changes of place, can be understood directed to Fidel Castro, because in the struggles for freedom the fate of a Man to give confidence to the spirit of greatness in the history of our peoples". During the late 1960s, Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges was asked for his opinion of Pablo Neruda. Borges stated, "I think of him as a very fine poet, a very fine poet. I don't admire him as a man, I think of him as a very mean man."[54] He said that Neruda had not spoken out against Argentine President Juan Perón because he was afraid to risk his reputation, noting "I was an Argentine poet, he was a Chilean poet, he's on the side of the Communists; I'm against them. So I felt he was behaving very wisely in avoiding a meeting that would have been quite uncomfortable for both of us."[55] Hiding and exile, 1948–1952 Neruda with his wife and Erich Honecker in 1951A few weeks after his "Yo acuso" speech in 1948, finding himself threatened with arrest, Neruda went into hiding and he and his wife were smuggled from house to house hidden by supporters and admirers for the next 13 months.[42] While in hiding, Senator Neruda was removed from office and, in September 1948, the Communist Party was banned altogether under the Ley de Defensa Permanente de la Democracia, called by critics the Ley Maldita (Accursed Law), which eliminated over 26,000 people from the electoral registers, thus stripping them of their right to vote. Neruda later moved to Valdivia in southern Chile. From Valdivia he moved to Fundo Huishue, a forestry estate in the vicinity of Huishue Lake. Neruda's life underground ended in March 1949 when he fled over the Lilpela Pass in the Andes Mountains to Argentina on horseback. He would dramatically recount his escape from Chile in his Nobel Prize lecture. Once out of Chile, he spent the next three years in exile.[42] In Buenos Aires, Neruda took advantage of the slight resemblance between him and his friend, the future Nobel Prize-winning novelist and cultural attaché to the Guatemalan embassy Miguel Ángel Asturias, to travel to Europe using Asturias' passport.[56] Pablo Picasso arranged his entrance into Paris and Neruda made a surprise appearance there to a stunned World Congress of Peace Forces[clarification needed], while the Chilean government denied that the poet could have escaped the country.[56] Neruda spent those three years traveling extensively throughout Europe as well as taking trips to India, China, Sri Lanka, and the Soviet Union. His trip to Mexico in late 1949 was lengthened due to a serious bout of phlebitis.[57] A Chilean singer named Matilde Urrutia was hired to care for him and they began an affair that would, years later, culminate in marriage.[57] During his exile, Urrutia would travel from country to country shadowing him and they would arrange meetings whenever they could. Matilde Urrutia was the muse for Los versos del capitán, a book of poetry which Neruda later published anonymously in 1952. from "Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon" Full woman, fleshly apple, hot moon,thick smell of seaweed, crushed mud and light,what obscure brilliance opens between your columns?What ancient night does a man touch with his senses? Loving is a journey with water and with stars,with smothered air and abrupt storms of flour:loving is a clash of lightning-boltsand two bodies defeated by a single drop of honey.From "Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon",Selected Poems translated by Stephen Mitchell (1997) [58]While in Mexico, Neruda also published his lengthy epic poem Canto General, a Whitmanesque catalog of the history, geography, and flora and fauna of South America, accompanied by Neruda's observations and experiences. Many of them dealt with his time underground in Chile, which is when he composed much of the poem. In fact, he had carried the manuscript with him during his escape on horseback. A month later, a different edition of 5,000 copies was boldly published in Chile by the outlawed Communist Party based on a manuscript Neruda had left behind. In Mexico, he was granted honorary Mexican citizenship.[59] Neruda's 1952 stay in a villa owned by Italian historian Edwin Cerio on the island of Capri was fictionalized in Antonio Skarmeta's 1985 novel Ardiente Paciencia (Ardent Patience, later known as El cartero de Neruda, or Neruda's Postman), which inspired the popular film Il Postino (1994).[60] Second return to Chile Neruda recording his poetry at the U.S. Library of Congress in 1966By 1952, the González Videla government was on its last legs, weakened by corruption scandals. The Chilean Socialist Party was in the process of nominating Salvador Allende as its candidate for the September 1952 presidential elections and was keen to have the presence of Neruda, by now Chile's most prominent left-wing literary figure, to support the campaign.[59] Neruda returned to Chile in August of that year and rejoined Delia del Carril, who had traveled ahead of him some months earlier, but the marriage was crumbling. Del Carril eventually learned of his affair with Matilde Urrutia and he sent her back to Chile in 1955.[clarification needed] She convinced the Chilean officials to lift his arrest,[clarification needed] allowing Urrutia and Neruda to go to Capri, Italy.[clarification needed] Now united with Urrutia, Neruda would, aside from many foreign trips and a stint as Allende's ambassador to France from 1970 to 1973, spend the rest of his life in Chile.[clarification needed] By this time, Neruda enjoyed worldwide fame as a poet, and his books were being translated into virtually all the major languages of the world.[42] He vigorously denounced the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later in the decade he likewise repeatedly condemned the U.S. for its involvement in the Vietnam War. But being one of the most prestigious and outspoken left-wing intellectuals alive, he also attracted opposition from ideological opponents. The Congress for Cultural Freedom, an anti-communist organization covertly established and funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, adopted Neruda as one of its primary targets and launched a campaign to undermine his reputation, reviving the old claim that he had been an accomplice in the attack on Leon Trotsky in Mexico City in 1940.[61] The campaign became more intense when it became known that Neruda was a candidate for the 1964 Nobel Prize, which was eventually awarded to Jean-Paul Sartre[62] (who rejected it). La Sebastiana, Neruda's house in ValparaísoIn 1966, Neruda was invited to attend an International PEN conference in New York City.[63] Officially, he was barred from entering the U.S. because he was a communist, but the conference organizer, playwright Arthur Miller, eventually prevailed upon the Johnson Administration to grant Neruda a visa.[63] Neruda gave readings to packed halls, and even recorded some poems for the Library of Congress.[63] Miller later opined that Neruda's adherence to his communist ideals of the 1930s was a result of his protracted exclusion from "bourgeois society". Due to the presence of many Eastern Bloc writers, Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes later wrote that the PEN conference marked a "beginning of the end" of the Cold War.[63] Upon Neruda's return to Chile, he stopped in Peru, where he gave readings to enthusiastic crowds in Lima and Arequipa and was received by President Fernando Belaúnde Terry.[63] However, this visit also prompted an unpleasant backlash; because the Peruvian government had come out against the government of Fidel Castro in Cuba, July 1966 saw more than 100 Cuban intellectuals retaliate against the poet by signing a letter that charged Neruda with colluding with the enemy, calling him an example of the "tepid, pro-Yankee revisionism" then prevalent in Latin America. The affair was particularly painful for Neruda because of his previous outspoken support for the Cuban revolution, and he never visited the island again, even after receiving an invitation in 1968. After the death of Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967, Neruda wrote several articles regretting the loss of a "great hero".[64] At the same time, he told his friend Aida Figueroa not to cry for Che, but for Luis Emilio Recabarren, the father of the Chilean communist movement who preached a pacifist revolution over Che's violent ways. Last years and death La Chascona, Neruda's house in SantiagoIn 1970, Neruda was nominated as a candidate for the Chilean presidency, but ended up giving his support to Salvador Allende, who later won the election and was inaugurated in 1970 as Chile's first democratically elected socialist head of state.[59][65] Shortly thereafter, Allende appointed Neruda the Chilean ambassador to France, lasting from 1970 to 1972; his final diplomatic posting. During his stint in Paris, Neruda helped to renegotiate the external debt of Chile, billions owed to European and American banks, but within months of his arrival in Paris his health began to deteriorate.[59] Neruda returned to Chile two-and-a-half years later due to his failing health. Buenos Aires 1971In 1971, Neruda was awarded the Nobel Prize,[59] a decision that did not come easily because some of the committee members had not forgotten Neruda's past praise of Stalinist dictatorship. But his Swedish translator, Artur Lundkvist, did his best to ensure the Chilean received the prize.[66] "A poet," Neruda stated in his Stockholm speech of acceptance of the Nobel Prize, "is at the same time a force for solidarity and for solitude."[67] The following year Neruda was awarded the prestigious Golden Wreath Award at the Struga Poetry Evenings.[68] As the coup d'état of 1973 unfolded, Neruda was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet saw Neruda's hopes for Chile destroyed. Shortly thereafter, during a search of the house and grounds at Isla Negra by Chilean armed forces at which Neruda was reportedly present, the poet famously remarked: "Look around – there's only one thing of danger for you here – poetry."[69] Neruda laid out in his coffin, 1973It was originally reported that, on the evening of 23 September 1973, at Santiago's Santa María Clinic, Neruda had died of heart failure;[70][71][72] However, "(t)hat day, he was alone in the hospital where he had already spent five days. His health was declining and he called his wife, Matilde Urrutia, so she could come immediately because they were giving him something and he wasn't feeling good."[5] On 12 May 2011, the Mexican magazine Proceso published an interview with his former driver Manuel Araya Osorio in which he states that he was present when Neruda called his wife and warned that he believed Pinochet had ordered a doctor to kill him, and that he had just been given an injection in his stomach.[4] He would die six-and-a-half hours later. Even reports from the pro-Pinochet El Mercurio newspaper[citation needed] the day after Neruda's death refer to an injection given immediately before Neruda's death. According to an official Chilean Interior Ministry report[citation needed] prepared in March 2015 for the court investigation into Neruda's death, "he was either given an injection or something orally" at the Santa María Clinic "which caused his death six-and-a-half hours later. The 1971 Nobel laureate was scheduled to fly to Mexico where he may have been planning to lead a government in exile that would denounce General Augusto Pinochet, who led the coup against Allende on September 11, according to his friends, researchers, and other political observers".[5] The funeral took place amidst a massive police presence, and mourners took advantage of the occasion to protest against the new regime, established just a couple of weeks before. Neruda's house was broken into and his papers and books taken or destroyed.[59] In 1974, his Memoirs appeared under the title I Confess I Have Lived, updated to the last days of the poet's life, and including a final segment describing the death of Salvador Allende during the storming of the Moneda Palace by General Pinochet and other generals – occurring only 12 days before Neruda died.[59] Matilde Urrutia subsequently compiled and edited for publication the memoirs and possibly his final poem "Right Comrade, It's the Hour of the Garden". These and other activities brought her into conflict with Pinochet's government, which continually sought to curtail Neruda's influence on the Chilean collective consciousness.[citation needed] Urrutia's own memoir, My Life with Pablo Neruda, was published posthumously in 1986.[73] Manuel Araya, his Communist Party-appointed chauffeur, published a book about Neruda's final days in 2012.[74] ControversyRumored murder and exhumationIn June 2013, a Chilean judge ordered that an investigation be launched, following suggestions that Neruda had been killed by the Pinochet regime for his pro-Allende stance and political views. Neruda's driver, Manuel Araya, claimed that he had seen Neruda 2 days prior to his death and that doctors had administered poison as the poet was preparing to go into exile. Araya claimed that he was driving Neruda to buy medicine when he was suddenly stopped by military personnel, who arrested him, hijacked the Fiat 125 he was driving and took him to police headquarters where they tortured Araya. He found out Neruda had died after Santiago Archbishop Raúl Silva Henríquez informed him.[75][76][77] In December 2011, Chile's Communist Party asked Chilean Judge Mario Carroza to order the exhumation of the remains of the poet. Carroza had been conducting probes into hundreds of deaths allegedly connected to abuses of Pinochet's regime from 1973 to 1990.[74][78] Carroza's inquiry during 2011–12 uncovered enough evidence to order the exhumation in April 2013.[79] Eduardo Contreras, a Chilean lawyer who was leading the push for a full investigation, commented: "We have world-class labs from India, Switzerland, Germany, the US, Sweden, they have all offered to do the lab work for free." The Pablo Neruda Foundation fought the exhumation under the grounds that the Araya's claims were unbelievable.[77] In June 2013, a court order was issued to find the man who allegedly poisoned Neruda. Police were investigating Michael Townley, who was facing trial for the killings of General Carlos Prats (Buenos Aires, 1974), and ex-Chancellor Orlando Letelier (Washington, 1976).[80][81] The Chilean government suggested that the 2015 test showed it was "highly probable that a third party" was responsible for his death.[82] Test results were released on 8 November 2013 of the seven-month investigation by a 15-member forensic team. Patricio Bustos, the head of Chile's medical legal service, stated "No relevant chemical substances have been found that could be linked to Mr. Neruda's death" at the time.[83] However, Carroza said that he was waiting for the results of the last scientific tests conducted in May (2015), which found that Neruda was infected with the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, which can be highly toxic and result in death if modified.[5] A team of 16 international experts led by Spanish forensic specialist Aurelio Luna from the University of Murcia announced on 20 October 2017 that "from analysis of the data we cannot accept that the poet had been in an imminent situation of death at the moment of entering the hospital" and that death from prostate cancer was not likely at the moment when he died. The team also discovered something in Neruda's remains that could possibly be a laboratory-cultivated bacterium. The results of their continuing analysis were expected in 2018.[84] His cause of death was in fact listed as a heart attack.[85] Scientists who exhumed Neruda's body in 2013 also backed claims that he was also suffering from prostate cancer when he died.[6] In 2023, a team from McMaster University and the University of Copenhagen confirmed the presence of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria in Neruda's bloodstream, although it is not clear if this contributed to his death.[86] Feminist protestsIn November 2018, the Cultural Committee of Chile's lower house voted in favour of renaming Santiago's main airport after Neruda. The decision sparked protests from feminist groups, who highlighted a passage in Neruda's memoirs describing an incident with a young house maid in 1929 in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).[87] Several feminist groups, bolstered by a growing #MeToo and anti-femicide movement stated that Neruda should not be honoured by his country, describing the passage as evidence of rape. Neruda remains a controversial figure for Chileans, and especially for Chilean feminists.[88] LegacyNeruda owned three houses in Chile; today they are all open to the public as museums: La Chascona in Santiago, La Sebastiana in Valparaíso, and Casa de Isla Negra in Isla Negra, where he and Matilde Urrutia are buried. A bust of Neruda stands on the grounds of the Organization of American States building in Washington, D.C.[89] In popular culture This article may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples. Please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (August 2020)MusicAmerican composer Tobias Picker set to music Tres Sonetos de Amor for baritone and orchestraAmerican composer Tobias Picker set to music Cuatro Sonetos de Amor for voice and pianoAmerican singer/songwriter Taylor Swift referenced Neruda's line "love is so short, forgetting is so long" in the prologue for her 2012 album, Red.Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis set to music the Canto general.Greek composer and singer Nikos Xilouris composed Οι Νεκρoί της Πλατείας (The dead of the Square) based on Los muertos de la plaza.American composer Samuel Barber used Neruda's poems for his cantata The Lovers in 1971.Alternative rock musician Lynda Thomas released as a single the flamenco song "Ay, Ay, Ay" (2001), which is based on the book Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.Austrian avant-garde composer Michael Gielen set to music Un día sobresale (Ein Tag Tritt Hervor. Pentaphonie für obligates Klavier, fünf Soloinstrumente und fünf Gruppen zu je fünf Musikern mit Worten von Pablo Neruda. 1960–63).Native American composer Ron Warren set to music Quatro Sonetos de Amor for coloratura soprano, flute, and piano (1999), 1 from each group of sonnets in Cien Sonetos de Amor. Recorded on Circle All Around Me Blue Heron Music BHM101.Puerto Rican composer Awilda Villarini used Neruda's text for her composition "Two Love Songs".[90]Mexican composer Daniel Catán wrote an opera Il Postino (2010), whose premiere production featured Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo portraying Pablo Neruda.The Dutch composer Peter Schat used twelve poems from the Canto General for his cantata Canto General for mezzo-soprano, violin, and piano (1974), which he dedicated to the memory of the late president Salvador Allende.The Dutch composer Annette Kruisbrink set to music La Canción Desesperada (2000), the last poem of Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada. Instrumentation: guitar and mixed choir (+ 4 soloists S/A/T/B).Folk rock / progressive rock group Los Jaivas, famous in Chile, used Las alturas de Macchu Picchu as the text for their album of the same name.Chilean composer Sergio Ortega worked closely with the poet in the musical play Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta (1967). Three decades later, Ortega expanded the piece into an opera, leaving Neruda's text intact.Argentine composer Julia Stilman-Lasansky (1935-2007) based her Cantata No. 3 on text by Neruda.[91]Peter Lieberson composed Neruda Songs (2005) and Songs of Love and Sorrow (2010) based on Cien Sonetos de Amor.[92]Jazz vocalist Luciana Souza released an album called "Neruda" (2004) featuring 10 of Neruda's poems set to the music of Federico Mompou.The South African musician Johnny Clegg drew heavily on Neruda in his early work with the band Juluka.On the back of Jackson Browne's album The Pretender, there is a poem by Neruda.Canadian rock group Red Rider named their 1983 LP/CD release Neruda.Chilean composer Leon Schidlowsky has composed a good number of pieces using poems by Neruda. Among them, Carrera, Caupolicán, and Lautaro.Pop band Sixpence None the Richer set his poem "Puedo escribir" to music on their platinum-selling self-titled album (1997).The group Brazilian Girls turned "Poema 15" ("Poem 15") from Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (20 love poems and a song of despair) into their song "Me gusta cuando callas" from their self-titled album.With permission from the Fundación Neruda, Marco Katz composed a song cycle based on the volume Piedras del cielo for voice and piano.[93] Centaur Records CRC 3232, 2012.The Occitan singer Joanda composed the song Pablo Neruda[94]American contemporary composer Morten Lauridsen set Neruda's poem "Soneto de la noche" to music as part of his cycle "Nocturnes" from 2005.The opening lines for the song "Bachata Rosa" by Juan Luis Guerra was inspired by Neruda's The Book of Questions.[95]Ezequiel Vinao composed "Sonetos de amor" (2011) a song cycle based on Neruda's love poems.Ute Lemper co-composed the songs of "Forever" (2013) an album of the Love poems of Pablo NerudaAmerican composer Daniel Welcher composed Abeja Blanca, for Mezzo-Soprano, English Horn, and Piano using the Abeja Blanca text from Neruda's Twenty Love Songs and a Song of DespairCanadian rock band The Tragically Hip, on their album Now for Plan A (Universal, 2012), the sixth track of the album is a song titled "Now For Plan A" which includes a reading by guest vocalist Sarah Harmer of the first two stanzas of the Pablo Neruda poem, "Ode To Age" ("Odă Bătrâneţii")[permanent dead link].Name dropped in the song La Vie Boheme from the 1996 musical Rent written and composed by Jonathan Larson: "To the stage, To Uta, To Buddha, Pablo Neruda too."[96]LiteratureNeruda's 1952 stay in a villa on the island of Capri was fictionalized in Chilean author Antonio Skarmeta's 1985 novel Ardiente Paciencia (published as Burning Patience, later known as El cartero de Neruda, or Neruda's Postman).[97]In 2008, the writer Roberto Ampuero published a novel El caso Neruda, about his private eye Cayetano Brulé where Pablo Neruda is one of the protagonists.The Dreamer (2010) is a children's fictional biography of Neruda, "a shy Chilean boy whose spirit develops and thrives despite his father's relentless negativity". Written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrated by Peter Sís, the text and illustrations are printed in Neruda's signature green ink.[98]The character of The Poet in Isabel Allende's debut novel The House of the Spirits is likely an allusion to Neruda.In the 2007 novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, a key time in the political radicalization of the protagonist – a young Pakistani intellectual – is his short stay in Chile, in the course of which he visits the preserved home of Pablo Neruda.The newest novel of Isabel Allende, "a long petal of the sea", has numerous important key figures in Chilean history in its narrative. She writes about the life of Pablo Neruda and his involvement in the transportation of numerous fugitives from the Franco regime to Chile.TheatreName dropped in the song La Vie Boheme from the 1996 award-winning and groundbreaking rock opera RENT written and composed by the late Jonathan Larson "To the stage, To Uta, To Buddha, Pablo Neruda too."[96]FilmThe Italian film Il Postino, inspired by Antonio Skármeta's 1985 novel Ardiente paciencia (Ardent Patience, later known as El cartero de Neruda or Neruda's Postman), centers on the story of a local postman, a humble soul, living in Salina Island near Sicily during the 1950s, who is puzzled by the amount of mail received by a foreign gentleman who has recently moved in. Pablo Neruda (played by Philippe Noiret), who spent some time in exile there, befriends and inspires in him a love of poetry.Neruda is a 120-minute documentary about his life and poetry including interviews with his friends like Volodia Teitelboim, Jose Balmes, Jorge Edwards, Andrej Wosnessenski, and Mikis Theodorakis. This film was directed by the German filmmaker Ebbo Demant and broadcast in 2004 on the European culture TV channel ARTE and the German public-service broadcaster ARD.Neruda, a 2016 Chilean filmThe English film Truly, Madly, Deeply, written and directed by Anthony Minghella, uses Neruda's poem "The Dead Woman" as a pivotal device in the plot when Nina (Juliet Stevenson) understands she must let go of her dead lover Jamie (Alan Rickman).The 1998 film Patch Adams features Love Sonnet XVII.In the 2020 film Chemical Hearts, Grace Town (Lili Reinhart) and Henry Page (Austin Abrams) are shown reading the poems from the Love Sonnet XVII and understanding the depths of it while Henry falls for Grace.In the film Barbershop (2002), the character Dinka (Leonard Earl Howze) gives flowers to the character Terri (Eve) with a poem by Pablo Neruda.The Sri Lankan film Alborada, otherwise known as Dawning of the Day, shows Neruda's stay in Ceylon as Chilean Consul in Ceylon.[99]Mentioned in the song "La Vie Boheme" in the 2005 film adaption of the award-winning and groundbreaking rock opera RENT originally written by the late Jonathan Larson adapted to screen by Stephen Chbosky and directed by American filmmaker Chris Columbus "To the stage, To Uta, To Buddha, Pablo Neruda too."[96][100]In the 2023 film Happiness for Beginners, Helen learns Jake has feelings for her by reading the poem he gave her, Neruda's sonnet "I do not love you."TelevisionIn the U.S. sitcom How I Met Your Mother, both Ted Mosby and the Mother's favourite poem is revealed to be Pablo Neruda's "Mañana XXVII".In The Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul", Lisa mentions and quotes Pablo Neruda ("Laughter is the language of the soul") and Bart snidely replies that he is familiar with his work.[101]In the Arthur episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone", Mr. Ratburn is seen reading a fictional collection of Neruda's works entitled Love Poems in the teacher's lounge.Mentioned in the Fox special Rent: Live a live television broadcasting of the rock opera RENT during the song "La Vie Boheme": "To the stage, To Uta, To Buddha, Pablo Neruda too."[96][100] originally written and composed for the stage by the late Jonathan LarsonScienceFor most of his life, Neruda was fascinated by butterflies. In 1976, a sub-group of the South American genus Heliconius was named after him; (see Neruda (genus)) though not currently in use in the primary scientific literature.[102][103]A crater on Mercury is also named Neruda, in his honor.[104]List of worksOriginalCrepusculario. Santiago, Ediciones Claridad, 1923.Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada. Santiago, Editorial Nascimento, 1924.Tentativa del hombre infinito. Santiago, Editorial Nascimento, 1926.Anillos. Santiago, Editorial Nascimento, 1926. (Prosa poética de Pablo Neruda y Tomás Lago.)El hondero entusiasta. Santiago, Empresa Letras, 1933.El habitante y su esperanza. Novela. Santiago, Editorial Nascimento, 1926.Residencia en la tierra (1925–1931). Madrid, Ediciones del Árbol, 1935.España en el corazón. Himno a las glorias del pueblo en la guerra: (1936–1937). Santiago, Ediciones Ercilla, 1937.Nuevo canto de amor a Stalingrado. México, 1943.Tercera residencia (1935–1945). Buenos Aires, Losada, 1947.Alturas de Macchu Picchu. Ediciones de Libreria Neira, Santiago de Chile, 1948.Canto general. México, Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, 1950.Los versos del capitán. 1952.Todo el amor. Santiago, Editorial Nascimento, 1953.Las uvas y el viento. Santiago, Editorial Nascimento, 1954.Odas elementales. Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, 1954.Nuevas odas elementales. Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, 1955.[105]Tercer libro de las odas. Buenos Aires, Losada, 1957.Estravagario. Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, 1958.Navegaciones y regresos. Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, 1959.Oda al Gato, original poem in Navegaciones y regresos book.Cien sonetos de amor. Santiago, Editorial Universitaria, 1959.Canción de gesta. La Habana, Imprenta Nacional de Cuba, 1960.Poesías: Las piedras de Chile. Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, 1960. Las Piedras de Pablo NerudaCantos ceremoniales. Buenos Aires, Losada, 1961.Memorial de Isla Negra. Buenos Aires, Losada, 1964. 5 volúmenes.Arte de pájaros. Santiago, Ediciones Sociedad de Amigos del Arte Contemporáneo, 1966.Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta. Santiago, Zig-Zag, 1967. La obra fue escrita con la intención de servir de libreto para una ópera de Sergio Ortega.La Barcarola. Buenos Aires, Losada, 1967.Las manos del día. Buenos Aires, Losada, 1968.Comiendo en Hungría. Editorial Lumen, Barcelona, 1969. (En co-autoría con Miguel Ángel Asturias)Fin del mundo. Santiago, Edición de la Sociedad de Arte Contemporáneo, 1969. Con Ilustraciones de Mario Carreño, Nemesio Antúnez, Pedro Millar, María Martner, Julio Escámez y Oswaldo Guayasamín.Aún. Editorial Nascimento, Santiago, 1969.Maremoto. Santiago, Sociedad de Arte Contemporáneo, 1970. Con Xilografías a color de Carin Oldfelt Hjertonsson.La espada encendida. Buenos Aires, Losada, 1970.Las piedras del cielo. Editorial Losada, Buenos Aires, 1970.Discurso de Estocolmo. Alpignano, Italia, A. Tallone, 1972.Geografía infructuosa. Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, 1972.La rosa separada. Éditions du Dragon, París, 1972 con grabados de Enrique Zañartu.Incitación al Nixonicidio y alabanza de la revolución chilena. Santiago, Empresa Editora Nacional Quimantú, Santiago, 1973.English translationsThe Heights of Macchu Picchu (bilingual edition) (Jonathan Cape Ltd London; Farrar, Straus, Giroux New York 1966, translated by Nathaniel Tarn, preface by Robert Pring-Mill)(broadcast by the BBC Third Programme 1966)Selected Poems: A Bilingual Edition, translated by Nathaniel Tarn. (Jonathan Cape Ltd London 1970)The Captain's Verses (bilingual edition) (New Directions, 1972) (translated by Donald D. Walsh)New Poems (1968-1970) (bilingual edition) (Grove Press, 1972) (translated by Ben Belitt)Residence on Earth (bilingual edition) (New Directions, 1973) (translated by Donald D. Walsh)Extravagaria (bilingual edition) (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1974) (translated by Alastair Reid)Selected Poems.(translated by Nathaniel Tarn: Penguin Books, London 1975)Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (bilingual edition) (Jonathan Cape Ltd London; Penguin Books, 1976 translated by William O'Daly)Still Another Day (Copper Canyon Press, 1984, 2005) (translated by William O'Daly)The Separate Rose (Copper Canyon Press, 1985) (translated by William O'Daly)100 Love Sonnets (bilingual edition) (University of Texas Press, 1986) (translated by Stephen Tapscott)Winter Garden (Copper Canyon Press, 1987, 2002) (translated by James Nolan)The Sea and the Bells (Copper Canyon Press, 1988, 2002) (translated by William O'Daly)The Yellow Heart (Copper Canyon Press, 1990, 2002) (translated by William O'Daly)Stones of the Sky (Copper Canyon Press, 1990, 2002) (translated by William O'Daly)Selected Odes of Pablo Neruda (University of California Press, 1990) (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)Canto General (University of California Press, 1991) (translated by Jack Schmitt)The Book of Questions (Copper Canyon Press, 1991, 2001) (translated by William O'Daly)The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, an anthology of 600 of Neruda's poems, some with Spanish originals, drawing on the work of 36 translators. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc, New York, 2003, 2005).[106]100 Love Sonnets (bilingual edition) (Exile Editions, 2004, new edition 2016) (translated and with an afterword by Gustavo Escobedo; Introduction by Rosemary Sullivan; Reflections on reading Neruda by George Elliott Clarke, Beatriz Hausner and A. F. Moritz)On the Blue Shore of Silence: Poems of the Sea (Rayo HarperCollins, 2004) (translated by Alastair Reid, epilogue Antonio Skármeta)The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems (City Lights, 2004) (translated by Robert Hass, Jack Hirschman, Mark Eisner, Forrest Gander, Stephen Mitchell, Stephen Kessler, and John Felstiner. Preface by Lawrence Ferlinghetti)Intimacies: Poems of Love (HarperCollins, 2008) (translated by Alastair Reid)The Hands of the Day (Copper Canyon Press, 2008) (translated by William O'Daly)All The Odes (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2013) (various translators, prominently Margaret Sayers Peden)Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda (Copper Canyon Press, 2016) (translated by Forrest Gander)[107]Venture of the Infinite Man (City Lights, 2017) (translated by Jessica Powell; introduction by Mark Eisner)Book of Twilight (Copper Canyon Press, 2018) (translated by William O'Daly) Pablo Neruda is one of the most influential and widely read 20th-century poets of the Americas. “No writer of world renown is perhaps so little known to North Americans as Chilean poet Pablo Neruda,” observed New York Times Book Review critic Selden Rodman. Numerous critics have praised Neruda as the greatest poet writing in the Spanish language during his lifetime. John Leonard in the New York Times declared that Neruda “was, I think, one of the great ones, a Whitman of the South.” Among contemporary readers in the United States, he is largely remembered for his odes and love poems. Born Ricardo Eliezer Neftali Reyes y Basoalto, Neruda adopted the pseudonym under which he would become famous while still in his early teens. He grew up in Temuco in the backwoods of southern Chile. Neruda’s literary development received assistance from unexpected sources. Among his teachers “was the poet Gabriela Mistral who would be a Nobel laureate years before Neruda,” reported Manuel Duran and Margery Safir in Earth Tones: The Poetry of Pablo Neruda. “It is almost inconceivable that two such gifted poets should find each other in such an unlikely spot. Mistral recognized the young Neftali’s talent and encouraged it by giving the boy books and the support he lacked at home.” By the time he finished high school, Neruda had published in local papers and Santiago magazines, and had won several literary competitions. In 1921 he left southern Chile for Santiago to attend school, with the intention of becoming a French teacher but was an indifferent student. While in Santiago, Neruda completed one of his most critically acclaimed and original works, the cycle of love poems titled Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada—published in English translation as Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. This work quickly marked Neruda as an important Chilean poet. Veinte poemas also brought the author notoriety due to its explicit celebration of sexuality, and, as Robert Clemens remarked in the Saturday Review, “established him at the outset as a frank, sensuous spokesman for love.” While other Latin American poets of the time used sexually explicit imagery, Neruda was the first to win popular acceptance for his presentation. Mixing memories of his love affairs with memories of the wilderness of southern Chile, he creates a poetic sequence that not only describes a physical liaison, but also evokes the sense of displacement that Neruda felt in leaving the wilderness for the city. “Traditionally,” stated Rene de Costa in The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, “love poetry has equated woman with nature. Neruda took this established mode of comparison and raised it to a cosmic level, making woman into a veritable force of the universe.” “In Veinte poemas,” wrote David P. Gallagher in Modern Latin American Literature, “Neruda journeys across the sea symbolically in search of an ideal port. In 1927, he embarked on a real journey, when he sailed from Buenos Aires for Lisbon, ultimately bound for Rangoon where he had been appointed honorary Chilean consul.” Duran and Safir explained that “Chile had a long tradition, like most Latin American countries, of sending her poets abroad as consuls or even, when they became famous, as ambassadors.” The poet was not really qualified for such a post and was unprepared for the squalor, poverty, and loneliness to which the position would expose him. “Neruda travelled extensively in the Far East over the next few years,” Gallagher continued, “and it was during this period that he wrote his first really splendid book of poems, Residencia en la tierra, a book ultimately published in two parts, in 1933 and 1935.” Neruda added a third part, Tercera residencia, in 1947. Residencia en la tierra, published in English as Residence on Earth, is widely celebrated as containing “some of Neruda’s most extraordinary and powerful poetry,” according to de Costa. Born of the poet’s feelings of alienation, the work reflects a world which is largely chaotic and senseless, and which—in the first two volumes—offers no hope of understanding. De Costa quoted Spanish poet García Lorca as calling Neruda “a poet closer to death than to philosophy, closer to pain than to insight, closer to blood than to ink. A poet filled with mysterious voices that fortunately he himself does not know how to decipher.” With its emphasis on despair and the lack of adequate answers to mankind’s problems, Residencia en la tierra in some ways foreshadowed the post-World War II philosophy of existentialism. “Neruda himself came to regard it very harshly,” wrote Michael Wood in the New York Review of Books. “It helped people to die rather than to live, he said, and if he had the proper authority to do so he would ban it, and make sure it was never reprinted.” Residencia en la tierra also marked Neruda’s emergence as an important international poet. By the time the second volume of the collection was published in 1935 the poet was serving as consul in Spain, where “for the first time,” reported Duran and Safir, “he tasted international recognition, at the heart of the Spanish language and tradition. At the same time … poets like Rafael Alberti and Miguel Hernandez, who had become closely involved in radical politics and the Communist movement, helped politicize Neruda.” When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, Neruda was among the first to espouse the Republican cause with the poem España en el corazon—a gesture that cost him his consular post. He later served in France and Mexico, where his politics caused less anxiety. Some readers have found it difficult to disassociate Neruda’s poetry from his fervent commitment to communism. An added difficulty lies in the fact that Neruda’s poetry is very hard to translate; his works available in English represent only a small portion of his total output. Nonetheless,Communism rescued Neruda from the despair he expressed in the first parts of Residencia en la tierra, and led to a change in his approach to poetry. He came to believe “that the work of art and the statement of thought—when these are responsible human actions, rooted in human need—are inseparable from historical and political context,” reported Salvatore Bizzarro in Pablo Neruda: All Poets the Poet. “He argued that there are books which are important at a certain moment in history, but once these books have resolved the problems they deal with they carry in them their own oblivion. Neruda felt that the belief that one could write solely for eternity was romantic posturing.” This new attitude led the poet in new directions; for many years his work, both poetry and prose, advocated an active role in social change rather than simply describing his feelings, as his earlier oeuvre had done. This significant shift in Neruda’s poetry is recognizable in Tercera residencia, the third and final part of the “Residencia” series. Florence L. Yudin noted in Hispania that the poetry of this volume was overlooked when published and remains neglected due to its overt ideological content. “Viewed as a whole,” Yudin wrote, “Tercera residencia illustrates a fluid coherence of innovation with retrospective, creativity with continuity, that would characterize Neruda’s entire career.” According to de Costa, as quoted by Yudin, “The new posture assumed is that of a radical nonconformist. Terra residencia must, therefore, be considered in this light, from the dual perspective of art and society, poetry and politics.” “Las Furias y las penas,” the longest poem of Tercera residencia, embodies the influence of both the Spanish Civil War and the works of Spanish Baroque poet Francisco Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas on Neruda. The poem explores the psychic agony of lost love and its accompanying guilt and suffering, conjured in the imagery of savage eroticism, alienation, and loss of self-identity. Neruda’s message, according to Yudin, is that “what makes up life’s narrative (‘cuento’) are single, unconnected events, governed by chance, and meaningless (‘suceden’). Man is out of control, like someone hallucinating one-night stands in sordid places.” Yudin concluded that, “Despite its failed dialectic, ‘Las Furias y las penas’ sustains a haunting beauty in meaning and tone” and “bears the unmistakable signature of Neruda’s originality and achievement.” Neruda’s politics had an important impact on his poetry. Clayton Eshleman wrote in the introduction to Cesar Vallejo’s Poemas humanos/ Human Poems that “Neruda found in the third book of Residencia the key to becoming the 20th-century South American poet: the revolutionary stance which always changes with the tides of time.” Gordon Brotherton, in Latin American Poetry: Origins and Presence, expanded on this idea by noting that “Neruda, so prolific, can be lax, a ‘great bad poet’ (to use the phrase Juan Ramon Jimenez used to revenge himself on Neruda). And his change of stance ‘with the tides of time’ may not always be perfectly effected. But … his dramatic and rhetorical skills, better his ability to speak out of his circumstances, … was consummate. In his best poetry (of which there is much) he speaks on a scale and with an agility unrivaled in Latin America.” Neruda expanded on his political views in the poem Canto general, which, according to de Costa, is a “lengthy epic on man’s struggle for justice in the New World.” Although Neruda had begun the poem as early as 1935—when he had intended it to be limited in scope only to Chile—he completed some of the work while serving in the Chilean senate as a representative of the Communist Party. However, party leaders recognized that the poet needed time to work on his opus, and granted him a leave of absence in 1947. Later that year, however, Neruda returned to political activism, writing letters in support of striking workers and criticizing Chilean President Videla. Early in 1948 the Chilean Supreme Court issued an order for his arrest, and Neruda finished the Canto general while hiding from Videla’s forces. “Canto general is the flowering of Neruda’s new political stance,” Don Bogen asserted in the Nation. “For Neruda food and other pleasures are our birthright—not as gifts from the earth or heaven but as the products of human labor.” According to Bogen, Canto general draws its “strength from a commitment to nameless workers—the men of the salt mines, the builders of Macchu Picchu—and the fundamental value of their labor.” Commenting on Canto general in Books Abroad, Jaime Alazraki remarked, “Neruda is not merely chronicling historical events. The poet is always present throughout the book not only because he describes those events, interpreting them according to a definite outlook on history, but also because the epic of the continent intertwines with his own epic.” Although, as Bizzarro noted, “In [the Canto general], Neruda was to reflect some of the [Communist] party’s basic ideological tenets,” the work itself is far more than propaganda. Looking back into American prehistory, the poet examined the land’s rich natural heritage and described the long defeat of the native Americans by the Europeans. He concentrated on elements of people’s lives common to all people at all times. Nancy Willard wrote in Testimony of the Invisible Man, “Neruda makes it clear that our most intense experience of impermanence is not death but our own isolation among the living. … If Neruda is intolerant of despair, it is because he wants nothing to sully man’s residence on earth.” “In the Canto,” explained Duran and Safir, “Neruda reached his peak as a public poet. He produced an ideological work that largely transcended contemporary events and became an epic of an entire continent and its people.” According to Alazraki, “By bringing together his own odyssey and the drama of the continent, Neruda has simultaneously given to Canto general the quality of a lyric and an epic poem. The lives of conquistadors, martyrs, heroes, and just plain people recover a refreshing actuality because they become part of the poet’s fate, and conversely, the life of the poet gains new depth because in his search one recognizes the continent’s struggles. Canto general is, thus, the song of a continent as much as it is Neruda’s own song.” Neruda returned to Chile from exile in 1953, and, said Duran and Safir, spent the last 20 years of his life producing “some of the finest love poetry in One Hundred Love Sonnets and parts of Extravagaria and La Barcarola; he produced Nature poetry that continued the movement toward close examination, almost still shots of every aspect of the external world, in the odes of Navegaciones y regresos, in The Stones of Chile, in The Art of Birds, in Una Casa en la arena and in Stones of the Sky. He continued as well his role as public poet in Canción de geste, in parts of Cantos ceremoniales, in the mythical La Espada encendida, and the angry Incitement to Nixonicide and Praise for the Chilean Revolution.” At this time, Neruda’s work began to move away from the highly political stance it had taken during the 1930s. Neruda began to try to speak to everyday people simply and clearly, on a level that anyone could understand. He wrote poems on subjects ranging from rain to feet. By examining common, ordinary, everyday things very closely, according to Duran and Safir, Neruda gives us “time to examine a particular plant, a stone, a flower, a bird, an aspect of modern life, at leisure. We look at the object, handle it, turn it around, all the sides are examined with love, care, attention. This is, in many ways, Neruda … at his best.” In 1971 Neruda reached the peak of his political career when the Chilean Communist party nominated him for president. He withdrew his nomination, however, when he reached an accord with Socialist nominee Salvador Allende. After Allende won the election he reactivated Neruda’s diplomatic credentials, appointing the poet ambassador to France. It was while Neruda was serving in Paris that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, in recognition of his oeuvre. Poor health soon forced the poet to resign his post, however, and he returned to Chile, where he died in 1973—only days after a right-wing military coup killed Allende and seized power. Many of his last poems, some published posthumously, indicate his awareness of his death’s approach. As Fernando Alegria wrote in Modern Poetry Studies, “What I want to emphasize is something very simple: Neruda was, above all, a love poet and, more than anyone, an unwavering, powerful, joyous, conqueror of death.” Commenting on Passions and Impressions, a posthumous collection of Neruda’s prose poems, political and literary essays, lectures, and newspaper articles, Mark Abley wrote in Maclean’s, “No matter what occasion provoked these pieces, his rich, tireless voice echoes with inimitable force.” As Neruda eschewed literary criticism, many critics found in him a lack of rationalism. According to Neruda, “It was through metaphor, not rational analysis and argument, that the mysteries of the world could be revealed,” remarked Stephen Dobyns in the Washington Post. However, Dobyns noted that Passions and Impressions “shows Neruda both at his most metaphorical and his most rational. … What one comes to realize from these prose pieces is how conscious and astute were Neruda’s esthetic choices. In retrospect at least his rejection of the path of the maestro, the critic, the rationalist was carefully calculated.” In his speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize, Neruda noted that “there arises an insight which the poet must learn through other people. There is no insurmountable solitude. All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are.” In 2003, 30 years after Neruda’s death, an anthology of 600 of Neruda’s poems arranged chronologically was published as The Poetry of Pablo Neruda. The collection draws from 36 different translators, and some of his major works are also presented in their original Spanish. Writing in the New Leader, Phoebe Pettingell pointed out that, although some works were left out because of the difficulty in presenting them properly in English, “an overwhelming body of Neruda’s output is here … and the collection certainly presents a remarkable array of subjects and styles.” Reflecting on the life and work of Neruda in the New Yorker, Mark Strand commented, “There is something about Neruda—about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion—that sets him apart from other poets. It is hard not to be swept away by the urgency of his language, and that’s especially so when he seems swept away.” ablo Neruda (1904-1973), whose real name is Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, was born on 12 July, 1904, in the town of Parral in Chile. His father was a railway employee and his mother, who died shortly after his birth, a teacher. Some years later his father, who had then moved to the town of Temuco, remarried doña Trinidad Candia Malverde. The poet spent his childhood and youth in Temuco, where he also got to know Gabriela Mistral, head of the girls’ secondary school, who took a liking to him. At the early age of thirteen he began to contribute some articles to the daily “La Mañana”, among them, Entusiasmo y Perseverancia – his first publication – and his first poem. In 1920, he became a contributor to the literary journal “Selva Austral” under the pen name of Pablo Neruda, which he adopted in memory of the Czechoslovak poet Jan Neruda (1834-1891). Some of the poems Neruda wrote at that time are to be found in his first published book: Crepusculario (1923). The following year saw the publication of Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada, one of his best-known and most translated works. Alongside his literary activities, Neruda studied French and pedagogy at the University of Chile in Santiago. Between 1927 and 1935, the government put him in charge of a number of honorary consulships, which took him to Burma, Ceylon, Java, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Madrid. His poetic production during that difficult period included, among other works, the collection of esoteric surrealistic poems, Residencia en la tierra (1933), which marked his literary breakthrough. The Spanish Civil War and the murder of García Lorca, whom Neruda knew, affected him strongly and made him join the Republican movement, first in Spain, and later in France, where he started working on his collection of poems España en el Corazón (1937). The same year he returned to his native country, to which he had been recalled, and his poetry during the following period was characterised by an orientation towards political and social matters. España en el Corazón had a great impact by virtue of its being printed in the middle of the front during the civil war. In 1939, Neruda was appointed consul for the Spanish emigration, residing in Paris, and, shortly afterwards, Consul General in Mexico, where he rewrote his Canto General de Chile, transforming it into an epic poem about the whole South American continent, its nature, its people and its historical destiny. This work, entitled Canto General, was published in Mexico 1950, and also underground in Chile. It consists of approximately 250 poems brought together into fifteen literary cycles and constitutes the central part of Neruda’s production. Shortly after its publication, Canto General was translated into some ten languages. Nearly all these poems were created in a difficult situation, when Neruda was living abroad. In 1943, Neruda returned to Chile, and in 1945 he was elected senator of the Republic, also joining the Communist Party of Chile. Due to his protests against President González Videla’s repressive policy against striking miners in 1947, he had to live underground in his own country for two years until he managed to leave in 1949. After living in different European countries he returned home in 1952. A great deal of what he published during that period bears the stamp of his political activities; one example is Las Uvas y el Viento (1954), which can be regarded as the diary of Neruda’s exile. In Odas elementales (1954- 1959) his message is expanded into a more extensive description of the world, where the objects of the hymns – things, events and relations – are duly presented in alphabetic form. Neruda’s production is exceptionally extensive. For example, his Obras Completas, constantly republished, comprised 459 pages in 1951; in 1962 the number of pages was 1,925, and in 1968 it amounted to 3,237, in two volumes. Among his works of the last few years can be mentioned Cien sonetos de amor (1959), which includes poems dedicated to his wife Matilde Urrutia, Memorial de Isla Negra, a poetic work of an autobiographic character in five volumes, published on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, Arte de pajáros (1966), La Barcarola (1967), the play Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta (1967), Las manos del día (1968), Fin del mundo (1969), Las piedras del cielo (1970), and La espada encendida. Further worksGeografía infructuosa/Barren Geography (poetry), 1972El mar y las campanas/The Sea and the Bells, tr. (poetry), 1973Incitación al nixonicidio y alabanza de la revolución chilena/A Call for the Destruction of Nixon and Praise for the Chilean Revolution, tr. (poetry), 1974El corazón amarillo/The Yellow Heart (poetry), 1974Defectos escogidos/Selected Waste Paper (poetry), 1974Elegía/Elegy (poetry), 1974Confieso que he vivido. Memorias/Memoirs, tr. (prose), 1974Para nacer he nacido/Passions and Impressions, tr. (prose), 1978 Parral is located 40 km (25 mi) south of Linares and 97 kilometers south of Talca, on the southern border of the Maule Region and Linares Province. Parral borders on the north with the communes of Longaví, Retiro and Colbún (with which it shares a short border in the cordillerana zone); on the west with the commune of Cauquenes (Cauquenes Province); on the south with the commune of Ñiquén and San Fabián and Ñuble Region); and on the east, with the commune of San Fabián. The commune of Parral is 1,638.4 km2 (632.6 sq mi) in area.[3] The river Perquilauquén forms its southern border.[citation needed] History[icon]This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020)During colonial times, the current commune was the southernmost part of the so-called "Isla del Maule", so called because it is surrounded by the waters of the Perquilauquén, Loncomilla and Maule rivers and, likewise, by the snows of the Andean peaks. View of the Alameda Despite the fact that today it is linked to the Maule Region, during that time, the territory of the current commune depended directly on Concepción because it was located south of the Maule River, which was the southern limit of the Santiago district. Later in the Colony, it was associated with the city of Chillán. This link with the Penquista capital is observed in the large number of people with the last name Urrutia, both in the town and in the area. The Urrutias are a Basque family based in Penco, which has given Parral, as well as the Provinces of Linares and Chillán, a large number of illustrious citizens (among them, numerous mayors). During the 18th century, there was interest in founding a town next to the Perquilauquén River, to prevent the crossing of this important river course north of Chillán. Old railway water tank, located in the Parral station Parral was officially founded on February 27, 1795, by Decree of Ambrosio O'Higgins, as "Villa Reina Luisa del Parral", in homage to the wife of Carlos IV, King of Spain, who bore that name. The neighbors themselves had suggested San José de Florida Blanca, by virtue of the fact that there was a count, minister of the Spanish King who bore that name, but O'Higgins rejected this idea. At that time there was a priest who had a rural parish, it is Don Bernardo de Barriga, who provided fifty blocks of land for the town of Parral to be founded, within his doctrine. His church was on Calle Igualdad, almost upon reaching Aníbal Pinto, where the house of Don Walterio Acuña stands today. More than twenty people had gathered around it and built houses, after the attempt to found a city in the vicinity of the Perquilauquén River failed, forty-five years before Parral was founded. That first town received the name of Natividad de Huenutil and was destroyed by the floods of the river. Parral is the birthplace of poet Pablo Neruda, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971. DemographyThe city of Parral is the second most populous city in Linares Province with a population of more than 26,000. According to the 2002 census, 26,397 (70.0%) live in urban areas and 11,425 (30.0%) in surrounding rural areas. The ratio of men to women is 101 to 100. Between the census of 1992 and that of 2002, the population of the municipality fell by 0.6% (245 people), exclusively in the rural population; the city of Parral grew by around 1,900 people (7.7%).[3] Parral has welcomed immigration from Italy and Germany.[citation needed] AdministrationAs a commune, Parral is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Israel Urrutia Escobar (PDC).[1][2] Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Parral is represented[when?] in the Chamber of Deputies by Guillermo Ceroni (PPD) and Ignacio Urrutia (UDI) as part of the 40th electoral district, together with Longaví, Retiro, Cauquenes, Pelluhue and Chanco. The commune is represented in the Senate by Hernán Larraín (UDI) and Ximena Rincón González (PDC) as part of the 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).[citation needed] Attractions Theater and Public Library of Parral.Natural and historical attractions in the area include: Termas de Catillo, thermal baths located 27 km (17 mi) east of Parral and 320 m (1,050 ft) above sea level, and the site of a 200-room hotel complex;The Digua Dam reservoir, a largely undeveloped recreational and fishing area;The Bullileo Dam reservoir and Laguna de Amargo recreational area;Fort Viejo, a recreational area and an archaeological site from the time of the Spanish colonization of the Americas (La Conquista);La Balsa, a recreational area near the Andes, with thermal baths nearby. Chile,[a] officially the Republic of Chile,[b] is a country located in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. With an area of 756,096 square kilometers (291,930 sq mi) and a population of 17.5 million as of 2017,[9] Chile shares borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. The country also controls several Pacific islands, including Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island, and claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as the Chilean Antarctic Territory.[nb 2] The capital and largest city of Chile is Santiago, and the national language is Spanish. Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule, but failed to conquer the independent Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. In 1818, after declaring independence from Spain, Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s. During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia. In the 20th century, up until the 1970s, Chile underwent a process of democratization[10][11] and experienced rapid population growth and urbanization,[12] while relying increasingly on exports from copper mining to support its economy.[13][14] During the 1960s and 1970s, the country was marked by severe left-right political polarization and turmoil, which culminated in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état that overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected left-wing government. This was followed by a 16-year right-wing military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, which resulted in more than 3,000 deaths or disappearances.[15] The regime ended in 1990, following a referendum in 1988, and was succeeded by a center-left coalition, which ruled until 2010. Chile has a high-income economy and is one of the most economically and socially stable nations in South America, leading Latin America in competitiveness, per capita income, globalization, peace, and economic freedom.[16] Chile also performs well in the region in terms of sustainability of the state and democratic development,[17] and boasts the second lowest homicide rate in the Americas, following only Canada. Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Pacific Alliance, and joined the OECD in 2010. EtymologyThere are various theories about the origin of the word Chile. According to 17th-century Spanish chronicler Diego de Rosales,[18] the Incas called the valley of the Aconcagua Chili by corruption of the name of a Picunche tribal chief (cacique) called Tili, who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest in the 15th century.[19][20] Another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili.[20] Other theories say Chile may derive its name from a Native American word meaning either 'ends of the earth' or 'sea gulls';[21] from the Mapuche word chilli, which may mean 'where the land ends'"[22] or from the Quechua chiri, 'cold',[23] or tchili, meaning either 'snow'[23][24] or "the deepest point of the Earth".[25] Another origin attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of the warble of a bird locally known as trile.[22][26] The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, and the few survivors of Diego de Almagro's first Spanish expedition south from Peru in 1535–36 called themselves the "men of Chilli".[22] Ultimately, Almagro is credited with the universalization of the name Chile, after naming the Mapocho valley as such.[20] The older spelling "Chili" was in use in English until the early 20th century before switching to "Chile".[27] HistoryMain article: History of ChileEarly historySee also: Prehispanic history of Chile and Origin of the Mapuche Lautaro, indigenous leader during Arauco War, by P. SubercaseauxStone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Indigenous Peoples settled in fertile valleys and coastal areas of what is present-day Chile. Settlement sites from very early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodón and the Pali-Aike Crater's lava tube.[28] The Incas briefly extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the Mapuche (or Araucanians as they were known by the Spaniards) successfully resisted many attempts by the Inca Empire to subjugate them, despite their lack of state organization.[29] They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army. The result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river.[30] Spanish colonizationMain articles: Conquest of Chile and Colonial Chile Kingdom of Chile in 1775 according to Chilean historiography. The next year the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created and the territories of the cities of Mendoza and San Juan got transferred from Chile to the new entity.[31][32][33][34]In 1520, while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, Ferdinand Magellan discovered the southern passage now named after him (the Strait of Magellan) thus becoming the first European to set foot on what is now Chile. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, who came from Peru in 1535 seeking gold. The Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting.[30] The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on 12 February 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chile's central valley, and Chile became part of the Spanish Empire.[30] Conquest took place gradually, and the Europeans suffered repeated setbacks. A massive Mapuche insurrection that began in 1553 resulted in Valdivia's death and the destruction of many of the colony's principal settlements. Subsequent major insurrections took place in 1598 and in 1655. Each time the Mapuche and other native groups revolted, the southern border of the colony was driven northward. The abolition of slavery by the Spanish crown in 1683 was done in recognition that enslaving the Mapuche intensified resistance rather than cowing them into submission. Despite royal prohibitions, relations remained strained from continual colonialist interference.[35] Cut off to the north by desert, to the south by the Mapuche, to the east by the Andes Mountains, and to the west by the ocean, Chile became one of the most centralized, homogeneous colonies in Spanish America. Serving as a sort of frontier garrison, the colony found itself with the mission of forestalling encroachment by both the Mapuche and Spain's European enemies, especially the English and the Dutch. Buccaneers and pirates menaced the colony in addition to the Mapuche, as was shown by Sir Francis Drake's 1578 raid on Valparaíso, the colony's principal port. Chile hosted one of the largest standing armies in the Americas, making it one of the most militarized of the Spanish possessions, as well as a drain on the treasury of the Viceroyalty of Peru.[22] Pedro Lira's 1888 painting of the founding of Santiago by Pedro de Valdivia at Huelén Hill.The first general census was conducted by the government of Agustín de Jáuregui between 1777 and 1778; it indicated that the population consisted of 259,646 inhabitants: 73.5% of European descent, 7.9% mestizos, 8.6% indigenous peoples and 9.8% blacks. Francisco Hurtado, Governor of the province of Chiloé, conducted a census in 1784 and found the population consisted of 26,703 inhabitants, 64.4% of whom were whites and 33.5% of whom were natives. The Diocese of Concepción conducted a census in areas south of the Maule river in 1812, but did not include the indigenous population or the inhabitants of the province of Chiloé. The population is estimated at 210,567, 86.1% of whom were Spanish or of European descent, 10% of whom were indigenous and 3.7% of whom were mestizos, blacks and mulattos.[36] A 2021 study by Baten and Llorca-Jaña shows that regions with a relatively high share of North European migrants developed faster in terms of numeracy, even if the overall number of migrants was small. This effect might be related to externalities: the surrounding population adopted a similar behavior as the small non-European immigrant group, and new schools were created. Ironically, there might have been positive spillover effects from the educational investment made by migrants, at the same time numeracy might have been reduced by the greater inequality in these regions. However, the positive effects of immigration were apparently stronger.[37] Independence and nation buildingSee also: Chilean War of Independence, War of the Pacific, and Argentine–Chilean naval arms race Generals José de San Martín (left) and Bernardo O'Higgins (right) during the crossing of the Andes.In 1808, Napoleon's enthronement of his brother Joseph as the Spanish King precipitated the drive by the colony for independence from Spain. A national junta in the name of Ferdinand – heir to the deposed king – was formed on 18 September 1810. The Government Junta of Chile proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy (in memory of this day, Chile celebrates its National Day on 18 September each year). After these events, a movement for total independence, under the command of José Miguel Carrera (one of the most renowned patriots) and his two brothers Juan José and Luis Carrera, soon gained a wider following. Spanish attempts to re-impose arbitrary rule during what was called the Reconquista led to a prolonged struggle, including infighting from Bernardo O'Higgins, who challenged Carrera's leadership. Intermittent warfare continued until 1817. With Carrera in prison in Argentina, O'Higgins and anti-Carrera cohort José de San Martín, hero of the Argentine War of Independence, led an army that crossed the Andes into Chile and defeated the royalists. On 12 February 1818, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic. The political revolt brought little social change, however, and 19th-century Chilean society preserved the essence of the stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church. A strong presidency eventually emerged, but wealthy landowners remained powerful.[30] Bernardo O'Higgins once planned to expand Chile by liberating the Philippines from Spain and incorporating the islands. In this regard he tasked the Scottish naval officer, Lord Thomas Cochrane, in a letter dated November 12, 1821, expressing his plan to conquer Guayaquil, the Galapagos Islands, and the Philippines. There were preparations, but the plan did not push through because O' Higgins was exiled.[38] Chile slowly started to expand its influence and to establish its borders. By the Tantauco Treaty, the archipelago of Chiloé was incorporated in 1826. The economy began to boom due to the discovery of silver ore in Chañarcillo, and the growing trade of the port of Valparaíso, which led to conflict over maritime supremacy in the Pacific with Peru. At the same time, attempts were made to strengthen sovereignty in southern Chile intensifying penetration into Araucanía and colonizing Llanquihue with German immigrants in 1848. Through the founding of Fort Bulnes by the Schooner Ancud under the command of John Williams Wilson, the Magallanes region joined the country in 1843, while the Antofagasta region, at the time part of Bolivia, began to fill with people. The Battle of Iquique on 21 May 1879. The victory of Chile in the War of the Pacific allowed its expansion into new territories.Toward the end of the 19th century, the government in Santiago consolidated its position in the south by the Occupation of Araucanía. The Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina confirmed Chilean sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan. As a result of the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia (1879–83), Chile expanded its territory northward by almost one-third, eliminating Bolivia's access to the Pacific, and acquired valuable nitrate deposits, the exploitation of which led to an era of national affluence. Chile had joined the stand as one of the high-income countries in South America by 1870.[39] The 1891 Chilean Civil War brought about a redistribution of power between the President and Congress, and Chile established a parliamentary style democracy. However, the Civil War had also been a contest between those who favored the development of local industries and powerful Chilean banking interests, particularly the House of Edwards which had strong ties to foreign investors. Soon after, the country engaged in a vastly expensive naval arms race with Argentina that nearly led to war. 20th centurySee also: Parliamentary Era in Chile, 1960 Valdivia earthquake, and South American dreadnought race Chile's Almirante Latorre dreadnought in 1921The Chilean economy partially degenerated into a system protecting the interests of a ruling oligarchy. By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, Arturo Alessandri, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress. In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.[30] A military coup led by General Luis Altamirano in 1924 set off a period of political instability that lasted until 1932. Of the ten governments that held power in that period, the longest lasting was that of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, who briefly held power in 1925 and then again between 1927 and 1931 in what was a de facto dictatorship (although not really comparable in harshness or corruption to the type of military dictatorship that have often bedeviled the rest of Latin America).[40][41] By relinquishing power to a democratically elected successor, Ibáñez del Campo retained the respect of a large enough segment of the population to remain a viable politician for more than thirty years, in spite of the vague and shifting nature of his ideology. When constitutional rule was restored in 1932, a strong middle-class party, the Radicals, emerged. It became the key force in coalition governments for the next 20 years. During the period of Radical Party dominance (1932–52), the state increased its role in the economy. In 1952, voters returned Ibáñez del Campo to office for another six years. Jorge Alessandri succeeded Ibáñez del Campo in 1958, bringing Chilean conservatism back into power democratically for another term. The 1964 presidential election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform. Under the slogan "Revolution in Liberty", the Frei administration embarked on far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers. By 1967, however, Frei encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and from conservatives, who found them excessive. At the end of his term, Frei had not fully achieved his party's ambitious goals.[30] Salvador AllendeIn the 1970 election, Senator Salvador Allende of the Socialist Party of Chile (then part of the "Popular Unity" coalition which included the Communists, Radicals, Social-Democrats, dissident Christian Democrats, the Popular Unitary Action Movement, and the Independent Popular Action),[30] achieved a partial majority in a plurality of votes in a three-way contest, followed by candidates Radomiro Tomic for the Christian Democrat Party and Jorge Alessandri for the Conservative Party. Allende was not elected with an absolute majority, receiving fewer than 35% of the votes. The Chilean Congress conducted a runoff vote between the leading candidates, Allende and former president Jorge Alessandri, and, keeping with tradition, chose Allende by a vote of 153 to 35. Frei refused to form an alliance with Alessandri to oppose Allende, on the grounds that the Christian Democrats were a workers' party and could not make common cause with the right wing.[42][43] An economic depression that began in 1972 was exacerbated by capital flight, plummeting private investment, and withdrawal of bank deposits in response to Allende's socialist program. Production fell and unemployment rose. Allende adopted measures including price freezes, wage increases, and tax reforms, to increase consumer spending and redistribute income downward.[44] Joint public-private public works projects helped reduce unemployment.[45][page needed] Much of the banking sector was nationalized. Many enterprises within the copper, coal, iron, nitrate, and steel industries were expropriated, nationalized, or subjected to state intervention. Industrial output increased sharply and unemployment fell during the Allende administration's first year.[45] Allende's program included advancement of workers' interests,[45][46] replacing the judicial system with "socialist legality",[47] nationalization of banks and forcing others to bankruptcy,[47] and strengthening "popular militias" known as MIR.[47] Started under former President Frei, the Popular Unity platform also called for nationalization of Chile's major copper mines in the form of a constitutional amendment. The measure was passed unanimously by Congress. As a result,[48] the Richard Nixon administration organized and inserted secret operatives in Chile, in order to swiftly destabilize Allende's government.[49] In addition, US financial pressure restricted international economic credit to Chile.[50] The economic problems were also exacerbated by Allende's public spending which was financed mostly by printing money and poor credit ratings given by commercial banks.[51] Simultaneously, opposition media, politicians, business guilds and other organizations helped to accelerate a campaign of domestic political and economical destabilization, some of which was backed by the United States.[50][52] By early 1973, inflation was out of control. On 26 May 1973, Chile's Supreme Court, which was opposed to Allende's government, unanimously denounced Allende's disruption of the legality of the nation. Although illegal under the Chilean constitution, the court supported and strengthened Pinochet's soon-to-be seizure of power.[47][53] Pinochet era (1973–1990)Main articles: Military government of Chile (1973–90), Miracle of Chile, and Beagle conflict Fighter jets bombing the Presidential Palace of La Moneda during the Chilean coup of 1973A military coup overthrew Allende on 11 September 1973. As the armed forces bombarded the presidential palace, Allende apparently committed suicide.[54][55] After the coup, Henry Kissinger told U.S. president Richard Nixon that the United States had "helped" the coup.[56] A military junta, led by General Augusto Pinochet, took control of the country. The first years of the regime were marked by human rights violations. Chile actively participated in Operation Condor.[57] In October 1973, at least 72 people were murdered by the Caravan of Death.[58] According to the Rettig Report and Valech Commission, at least 2,115 were killed,[59] and at least 27,265[60] were tortured (including 88 children younger than 12 years old).[60] In 2011, Chile recognized an additional 9,800 victims, bringing the total number of killed, tortured or imprisoned for political reasons to 40,018.[61] At the national stadium, filled with detainees, one of those tortured and killed was internationally known poet-singer Víctor Jara (see "Music and Dance", below). Augusto PinochetA new Constitution was approved by a controversial plebiscite on 11 September 1980, and General Pinochet became president of the republic for an eight-year term. After Pinochet obtained rule of the country, several hundred committed Chilean revolutionaries joined the Sandinista army in Nicaragua, guerrilla forces in Argentina or training camps in Cuba, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa.[62] In the late 1980s, largely as a result of events such as the 1982 economic collapse[63] and mass civil resistance in 1983–88, the government gradually permitted greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, to include trade union and political activity.[64] The government launched market-oriented reforms with Hernán Büchi as Minister of Finance. Chile moved toward a free market economy that saw an increase in domestic and foreign private investment, although the copper industry and other important mineral resources were not opened to competition. In a plebiscite on 5 October 1988, Pinochet was denied a second eight-year term as president (56% against 44%). Chileans elected a new president and the majority of members of a bicameral congress on 14 December 1989. Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin, the candidate of a coalition of 17 political parties called the Concertación, received an absolute majority of votes (55%).[65] President Aylwin served from 1990 to 1994, in what was considered a transition period. 21st centurySee also: 2010 Chile earthquake and 2019–20 Chilean protests Five presidents of Chile since Transition to democracy (1990–2022), celebrating the Bicentennial of ChileIn December 1993, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, the son of previous president Eduardo Frei Montalva, led the Concertación coalition to victory with an absolute majority of votes (58%).[66] Frei Ruiz-Tagle was succeeded in 2000 by Socialist Ricardo Lagos, who won the presidency in an unprecedented runoff election against Joaquín Lavín of the rightist Alliance for Chile.[67] In January 2006, Chileans elected their first female president, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, of the Socialist Party, defeating Sebastián Piñera, of the National Renewal party, extending the Concertación governance for another four years.[68][69] In January 2010, Chileans elected Sebastián Piñera as the first rightist President in 20 years, defeating former President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle of the Concertación, for a four-year term succeeding Bachelet. Due to term limits, Sebastián Piñera did not stand for re-election in 2013, and his term expired in March 2014 resulting in Michelle Bachelet returning to office.[70] Sebastián Piñera succeeded Bachelet again in 2018 as the President of Chile after winning the December 2017 presidential election.[71][72] On 27 February 2010, Chile was struck by an 8.8 Mw earthquake, the fifth largest ever recorded at the time. More than 500 people died (most from the ensuing tsunami) and over a million people lost their homes. The earthquake was also followed by multiple aftershocks.[73] Initial damage estimates were in the range of US$15–30 billion, around 10% to 15% of Chile's real gross domestic product.[74] Chile achieved global recognition for the successful rescue of 33 trapped miners in 2010. On 5 August 2010, the access tunnel collapsed at the San José copper and gold mine in the Atacama Desert near Copiapó in northern Chile, trapping 33 men 700 meters (2,300 ft) below ground. A rescue effort organized by the Chilean government located the miners 17 days later. All 33 men were brought to the surface two months later on 13 October 2010 over a period of almost 24 hours, an effort that was carried on live television around the world.[75] View of the 2019–2022 Chilean protests towards Plaza Baquedano, Santiago2019–20 Chilean protests are a series of country-wide protests in response to a rise in the Santiago Metro's subway fare, the increased cost of living, privatization and inequality prevalent in the country.[76] On 15 November, most of the political parties represented in the National Congress signed an agreement to call a national referendum in April 2020 regarding the creation of a new Constitution, later postponed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[77] On 25 October 2020, Chileans voted 78.28 per cent in favor of a new constitution, while 21.72 per cent rejected the change. Voter turnout was 51 percent. An election for the members of the Constitutional Convention was held in Chile between 15 and 16 May 2021.[78] On 19 December 2021, a leftist candidate, the 35-year-old former student protest leader Gabriel Boric, won Chile's presidential election to become the country's youngest ever leader.[79] On 11 March 2022, Boric was sworn in as president to succeed outgoing President Sebastian Pinera.[80] Out of 24 members of Gabriel Boric's female-majority Cabinet, 14 are women.[81] On 4 September 2022, voters rejected overwhelmingly the new constitution in the constitutional referendum, which was put forward by the constitutional convention. The rejected new constitution, supported strongly by president Boric, proved to be too radical and left-leaning for the majority of voters.[82] GeographyMain article: Geography of ChileSee also: Natural regions of Chile and Environmental issues in Chile Norte GrandeNorte ChicoCentral ZoneSouthern ZoneAustral ZoneNatural regions of Chile.A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,670 mi) north to south, but only 350 km (217 mi) at its widest point east to west[83] and 64 km (40 mi) at its narrowest point east to west, with an average width of 175 km (109 mi). This encompasses a remarkable variety of climates and landscapes. It contains 756,950 square kilometers (292,260 sq mi) of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Excluding its Pacific islands and Antarctic claim, Chile lies between latitudes 17° and 56°S, and longitudes 66° and 75°W. Chile is among the longest north–south countries in the world. If one considers only mainland territory, Chile is unique within this group in its narrowness from east to west, with the other long north–south countries (including Brazil, Russia, Canada, and the United States, among others) all being wider from east to west by a factor of more than 10. Chile also claims 1,250,000 km2 (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as part of its territory (Chilean Antarctic Territory). However, this latter claim is suspended under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, of which Chile is a signatory.[84] It is the world's southernmost country that is geographically on the mainland.[85] Chile controls Easter Island and Sala y Gómez Island, the easternmost islands of Polynesia, which it incorporated to its territory in 1888, and the Juan Fernández Islands, more than 600 km (370 mi) from the mainland. Also controlled but only temporarily inhabited (by some local fishermen) are the small islands of San Ambrosio and San Felix. These islands are notable because they extend Chile's claim to territorial waters out from its coast into the Pacific Ocean.[86] The northern Atacama Desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area is also the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border. Topography Topographic map of ChileChile is located along a highly seismic and volcanic zone, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, due to the subduction of the Nazca and Antarctic plates in the South American plate. Late Paleozoic, 251 million years ago, Chile belonged to the continental block called Gondwana. It was just a depression that accumulated marine sediments began to rise at the end of the Mesozoic, 66 million years ago, due to the collision between the Nazca and South American plates, resulting in the Andes. The territory would be shaped over millions of years by the folding of the rocks, forming the current relief. The Chilean relief consists of the central depression, which crosses the country longitudinally, flanked by two mountain ranges that make up about 80% of the territory: the Andes mountains to the east-natural border with Bolivia and Argentina in the region of Atacama and the Coastal Range west-minor height from the Andes. Chile's highest peak is the Nevado Ojos del Salado, at 6891.3 m, which is also the highest volcano in the world. The highest point of the Coastal Range is Vicuña Mackenna, at 3114 meters, located in the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna, the south of Antofagasta. Among the coastal mountains and the Pacific is a series of coastal plains, of variable length, which allow the settlement of coastal towns and big ports. Some areas of the plains territories encompass territory east of the Andes, and the Patagonian steppes and Magellan, or are high plateaus surrounded by high mountain ranges, such as the Altiplano or Puna de Atacama. The Far North is the area between the northern boundary of the country and the parallel 26° S, covering the first three regions. It is characterized by the presence of the Atacama desert, the most arid in the world. The desert is fragmented by streams that originate in the area known as the pampas Tamarugal. The Andes, split in two and whose eastern arm runs through Bolivia, has a high altitude and volcanic activity, which has allowed the formation of the Andean altiplano and salt structures as the Salar de Atacama, due to the gradual accumulation of sediments over time. To the south is the Norte Chico, extending to the Aconcagua river. Los Andes begin to decrease its altitude to the south and closer to the coast, reaching 90 km away at the height of Illapel, the narrowest part of the Chilean territory. The two mountain ranges intersect, virtually eliminating the intermediate depression. The existence of rivers flowing through the territory allows the formation of transverse valleys, where agriculture has developed strongly in recent times, while the coastal plains begin to expand. Amalia Glacier, located in Bernardo O'Higgins National ParkThe Central area is the most populated region of the country. The coastal plains are wide and allow the establishment of cities and ports along the Pacific. The Andes maintain altitudes above 6000m but descend slowly in height to 4000 meters on average. The intermediate depression reappears becoming a fertile valley that allows agricultural development and human settlement, due to sediment accumulation. To the south, the Cordillera de la Costa reappears in the range of Nahuelbuta while glacial sediments create a series of lakes in the area of La Frontera. Patagonia extends from within Reloncavi, at the height of parallel 41°S, to the south. During the last glaciation, this area was covered by ice that strongly eroded Chilean relief structures. As a result, the intermediate depression sinks in the sea, while the coastal mountains rise to a series of archipelagos, such as Chiloé and the Chonos, disappearing in Taitao peninsula, in the parallel 47°S. The Andes mountain range loses height and erosion caused by the action of glaciers has caused fjords. East of the Andes, on the continent, or north of it, on the island of Tierra del Fuego are located relatively flat plains, which in the Strait of Magellan cover large areas. The Andes, as he had done previously Cordillera de la Costa, begins to break in the ocean causing a myriad of islands and islets and disappear into it, sinking and reappearing in the Southern Antilles arc and then the Antarctic Peninsula, where it is called Antartandes, in the Chilean Antarctic Territory, lying between the meridians 53°W and 90°W. In the middle of the Pacific, the country has sovereignty over several islands of volcanic origin, collectively known as Insular Chile. The archipelago of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island is located in the fracture zone between the Nazca plate and the Pacific plate known as East Pacific Rise. Climate and hydrography Chile map of Köppen climate classification.Main article: Climate of ChileThe diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama Desert—through a Mediterranean climate in the center, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south.[15] According to the Köppen system, Chile within its borders hosts at least ten major climatic subtypes. There are four seasons in most of the country: summer (December to February), autumn (March to May), winter (June to August), and spring (September to November). Due to the characteristics of the territory, Chile is crossed by numerous rivers generally short in length and with low flow rates. They commonly extend from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean, flowing from East to West. Because of the Atacama desert, in the Norte Grande there are only short endorheic character streams, except for the Loa River, the longest in the country 440 km.[87] In the high valleys, wetland areas generate Chungará Lake, located at 4500 meters above sea level. It and the Lauca River are shared with Bolivia, as well as the Lluta River. In the center-north of the country, the number of rivers that form valleys of agricultural importance increases. Noteworthy are the Elqui with 75 km[87] long, 142 km Aconcagua, Maipo with 250 km[87] and its tributary, the Mapocho with 110 km, and Maule with 240 km. Their waters mainly flow from Andean snowmelt in the summer and winter rains. The major lakes in this area are the artificial lake Rapel, the Colbun Maule lagoon and the lagoon of La Laja. BiodiversityMain article: Wildlife of Chile Araucaria araucana trees in Conguillío National Park.The flora and fauna of Chile are characterized by a high degree of endemism, due to its particular geography. In continental Chile, the Atacama Desert in the north and the Andes mountains to the east are barriers that have led to the isolation of flora and fauna. Add to that the enormous length of Chile (over 4,300 km (2,672 mi)) and this results in a wide range of climates and environments that can be divided into three general zones: the desert provinces of the north, central Chile, and the humid regions of the south. The native flora of Chile consists of relatively fewer species compared to the flora of other South American countries. The northernmost coastal and central region is largely barren of vegetation, approaching the most absolute desert in the world.[88] On the slopes of the Andes, in addition to the scattered tola desert brush, grasses are found. The central valley is characterized by several species of cacti, the hardy espinos, the Chilean pine, the southern beeches and the copihue, a red bell-shaped flower that is Chile's national flower.[88] In southern Chile, south of the Biobío River, heavy precipitation has produced dense forests of laurels, magnolias, and various species of conifers and beeches, which become smaller and more stunted to the south.[89] The cold temperatures and winds of the extreme south preclude heavy forestation. Grassland is found in Atlantic Chile (in Patagonia). Much of the Chilean flora is distinct from that of neighboring Argentina, indicating that the Andean barrier existed during its formation.[89] Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), the national bird of Chile.Some of Chile's flora has an Antarctic origin due to land bridges which formed during the Cretaceous ice ages, allowing plants to migrate from Antarctica to South America.[90] Chile had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.37/10, ranking it 43rd globally out of 172 countries.[91] Just over 3,000 species of fungi are recorded in Chile,[92][93] but this number is far from complete. The true total number of fungal species occurring in Chile is likely to be far higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about 7 percent of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.[94] Although the amount of available information is still very small, a first effort has been made to estimate the number of fungal species endemic to Chile, and 1995 species have been tentatively identified as possible endemics of the country.[95] Chile's geographical isolation has restricted the immigration of faunal life so that only a few of the many distinctive South American animals are found. Among the larger mammals are the puma or cougar, the llama-like guanaco and the fox-like chilla. In the forest region, several types of marsupials and a small deer known as the pudu are found.[88] There are many species of small birds, but most of the larger common Latin American types are absent. Few freshwater fish are native, but North American trout have been successfully introduced into the Andean lakes.[88] Owing to the vicinity of the Humboldt Current, ocean waters abound with fish and other forms of marine life, which in turn support a rich variety of waterfowl, including several penguins. Whales are abundant, and some six species of seals are found in the area.[88] Government and politicsMain articles: Politics of Chile and Law of ChileSee also: List of cities in Chile The Palacio de La Moneda in downtown Santiago National Congress of Chile in the port city of Valparaíso The Palace of Justice in SantiagoThe current Constitution of Chile was drafted by Jaime Guzmán in 1980[96] and subsequently approved via a national plebiscite—regarded as "highly irregular" by some observers[97]—in September of that year, under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It entered into force in March 1981. After Pinochet's defeat in the 1988 plebiscite, the constitution was amended to ease provisions for future amendments to the Constitution. In September 2005, President Ricardo Lagos signed into law several constitutional amendments passed by Congress. These include eliminating the positions of appointed senators and senators for life, granting the President authority to remove the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces, and reducing the presidential term from six to four years.[98] Chile's judiciary is independent and includes a court of appeal, a system of military courts, a constitutional tribunal, and the Supreme Court of Chile. In June 2005, Chile completed a nationwide overhaul of its criminal justice system.[99] The reform has replaced inquisitorial proceedings with an adversarial system with greater similarity to that of common law jurisdictions such as the United States. For parliamentary elections, between 1989 and 2013 the binominal system was used, which promoted the establishment of two majority political blocs -Concertación and Alliance- at the expense of the exclusion of non-majority political groups. The opponents of this system approved in 2015 a moderate proportional electoral system that has been in force since the 2017 parliamentary elections, allowing the entry of new parties and coalitions. The Congress of Chile has a 50-seat Senate and a 155-member Chamber of Deputies. Senators serve for eight years with staggered terms, while deputies are elected every 4 years. The last congressional elections were held on 21 November 2021, concurrently with the presidential election. The Congress is located in the port city of Valparaíso, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of the capital, Santiago. The main existing political coalitions in Chile are: Government: Apruebo Dignidad (Approve Dignity) is a left-wing coalition that has its origin in the 2021 Chilean Constitutional Convention election. After the success in that election, it held presidential primaries, in which Gabriel Boric (CS, FA) was the winner. It is formed by the coalition Frente Amplio (Broad Front) and the coalition Chile Digno (Worthy Chile) formed by the Communist Party of Chile and other left-wing parties.Democratic Socialism is a center-left coalition, successor of the Constituent Unity coalition, itself a successor of the Concertation coalition – which supported the "NO" option in the 1988 plebiscite and subsequently governed the country from 1990 to 2010. This pact is formed by the Socialist, for Democracy, Radical, and Liberal parties.Opposition: Chile Vamos (Let's go Chile) is a center-right coalition with roots of liberal conservatism, formed by the parties Renovación Nacional (National Renewal), Unión Demócrata Independiente (Independent Democratic Union) and Evópoli. It has its origins in the Alliance coalition, formed by the main parties that supported the "YES" option in the 1988 plebiscite, although it has used different names since then. It was the ruling coalition during the first and second government of Sebastián Piñera, (2010–2014) and (2018–2022).In the National Congress, Chile Vamos has 52 deputies and 24 senators, while the parliamentary group of Apruebo Dignidad is formed by 37 deputies and 6 senators. Democratic Socialism is the third political force with 30 deputies and 13 senators. The other groups with parliamentary representation are the Republican Party (15 deputies and 1 senator), the Christian Democratic Party (8 deputies and 5 senators), the Party of the People (8 deputies) and the independents outside of a coalition (5 deputies and 1 senator). Foreign relationsMain article: Foreign relations of Chile State of Chile's international relations in the world: Chile Country with diplomatic relations and Chilean embassy in the country. Country with diplomatic relations and an embassy in Chile, but no Chilean embassy. Country with diplomatic relations but without ambassadors. Country with no diplomatic relations currently.Since the early decades after independence, Chile has always had an active involvement in foreign affairs. In 1837, the country aggressively challenged the dominance of Peru's port of Callao for preeminence in the Pacific trade routes, defeating the short-lived alliance between Peru and Bolivia, the Peru–Bolivian Confederation (1836–39) in the War of the Confederation. The war dissolved the confederation while distributing power in the Pacific. A second international war, the War of the Pacific (1879–83), further increased Chile's regional role, while adding considerably to its territory.[22] During the 19th century, Chile's commercial ties were primarily with Britain, a nation that had a major influence on the formation of the Chilean navy. The French, influenced Chile's legal and educational systems and had a decisive impact on Chile, through the architecture of the capital in the boom years at the turn of the 20th century. German influence came from the organization and training of the army by Prussians.[22] On 26 June 1945, Chile participated as a founding member of the United Nations being among 50 countries that signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California.[100][101] With the military coup of 1973, Chile became isolated politically as a result of widespread human rights abuses.[22] Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the international political arena. Chile completed a two-year non-permanent position on the UN Security Council in January 2005. Jose Miguel Insulza, a Chilean national, was elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States in May 2005 and confirmed in his position, being re-elected in 2009. Chile is currently serving on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, and the 2007–2008 chair of the board is Chile's ambassador to the IAEA, Milenko E. Skoknic. The country is an active member of the UN family of agencies and participates in UN peacekeeping activities. It was re-elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 for a three-year term.[102] It was also elected to one of five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council in 2013.[103] Chile hosted the Defense Ministerial of the Americas in 2002 and the APEC summit and related meetings in 2004. It also hosted the Community of Democracies ministerial in April 2005 and the Ibero-American Summit in November 2007. An associate member of Mercosur and a full member of APEC, Chile has been a major player in international economic issues and hemispheric free trade.[30] MilitaryMain article: Military of Chile Karel Doorman-class frigate of Chilean Navy F-16 Fighting Falcon of Chilean Air ForceThe Armed Forces of Chile are subject to civilian control exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense. The president has the authority to remove the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces.[30] The commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army is Army General Ricardo Martínez Menanteau. The Chilean Army is 45,000 strong and is organized with an Army headquarters in Santiago, six divisions throughout its territory, an Air Brigade in Rancagua, and a Special Forces Command in Colina. The Chilean Army is one of the most professional and technologically advanced armies in Latin America.[30] Admiral Julio Leiva Molina directs the around 25,000-person Chilean Navy,[104] including 2,500 Marines. Of the fleet of 29 surface vessels, only eight are operational major combatants (frigates). Those ships are based in Valparaíso.[105] The Navy operates its own aircraft for transport and patrol; there are no Navy fighter or bomber aircraft. The Navy also operates four submarines based in Talcahuano.[30][106] Air Force General (four-star) Jorge Rojas Ávila heads the 12,500-strong Chilean Air Force. Air assets are distributed among five air brigades headquartered in Iquique, Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas. The Air Force also operates an airbase on King George Island, Antarctica. The Air Force took delivery of the final two of ten F-16s, all purchased from the U.S., in March 2007 after several decades of U.S. debate and previous refusal to sell. Chile also took delivery in 2007 of a number of reconditioned Block 15 F-16s from the Netherlands, bringing to 18 the total of F-16s purchased from the Dutch.[30] After the military coup in September 1973, the Chilean national police (Carabineros) were incorporated into the Defense Ministry. With the return of democratic government, the police were placed under the operational control of the Interior Ministry but remained under the nominal control of the Defense Ministry. Gen. Gustavo González Jure is the head of the national police force of 40,964[107] men and women who are responsible for law enforcement, traffic management, narcotics suppression, border control, and counter-terrorism throughout Chile.[30] In 2017, Chile signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[108] Administrative divisionsMain article: Administrative divisions of ChileIn 1978 Chile was administratively divided into regions,[109] and in 1979 subdivided into provinces and these into communes.[110][111] In total the country has 16 regions,[112][113] 56 provinces and 348 communes.[114] Each region was designated by a name and a Roman numeral assigned from north to south, except for the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which did not have a number. The creation of two new regions in 2007, Arica and Parinacota (XV) and Los Ríos (XIV), and a third region in 2018, Ñuble (XVI) made this numbering lose its original order meaning. Map of Regions of ChileAdministrative divisions of ChileRegion[109][112][113]Population[9]Area (km2)[2]DensityCapitalArica y Parinacota224 54816 873,313,40AricaTarapacá324 93042 225,87,83IquiqueAntofagasta599 335126 049,14,82AntofagastaAtacama285 36375 176,23,81CopiapóCoquimbo742 17840 579,918,67La SerenaValparaíso1 790 21916 396,1110,75ValparaísoSantiago Metropolitan7 036 79215 403,2461,77SantiagoLibertador General Bernardo O'Higgins908 54516 38754,96RancaguaMaule1 033 19730 296,134,49TalcaÑuble480 60913 178.536.47ChillánBiobío1 556 80523 890,2112,08ConcepciónAraucanía938 62631 842,330,06TemucoLos Ríos380 18118 429,520,88ValdiviaLos Lagos823 20448 583,617,06Puerto MonttAysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo102 317108 494,40,95CoyhaiqueMagallanes and Chilean Antarctica165 593132 297,2(1)1,26Punta ArenasChile17 373 831756 102,4(2)23,24Santiago(1) Including the Chilean Antarctic Territory, its surface reaches 1 382 554,8 km2(2) Including the Chilean Antarctic Territory, its surface reaches 2 006 360 km2National symbolsThe national flower is the copihue (Lapageria rosea, Chilean bellflower), which grows in the woods of southern Chile. The coat of arms depicts the two national animals: the condor (Vultur gryphus, a very large bird that lives in the mountains) and the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus, an endangered white tail deer). It also has the legend Por la razón o la fuerza (By reason or by force). The flag of Chile consists of two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is 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 stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence. The flag of Chile is similar to the Flag of Texas, although the Chilean flag is 21 years older. However, like the Texan flag, the flag of Chile is modeled after the Flag of the United States.[115] EconomyMain article: Economy of Chile A proportional representation of Chile exports, 2019 Santiago Stock ExchangeThe Central Bank of Chile in Santiago serves as the central bank for the country. The Chilean currency is the Chilean peso (CLP). Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations,[15] leading Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, globalization, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption.[16] Since July 2013, Chile is considered by the World Bank as a "high-income economy".[116][117][118] Chile has the highest degree of economic freedom in South America (ranking 7th worldwide), owing to its independent and efficient judicial system and prudent public finance management.[119] In May 2010 Chile became the first South American country to join the OECD.[120] In 2006, Chile became the country with the highest nominal GDP per capita in Latin America.[121] As of 2020, Chile ranks third in Latin America (behind Uruguay and Panama) in nominal GDP per capita. Copper mining makes up 20% of Chilean GDP and 60% of exports.[122] Escondida is the largest copper mine in the world, producing over 5% of global supplies.[122] Overall, Chile produces a third of the world's copper.[122] Codelco, the state mining firm, competes with private copper mining companies.[122] Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady economic growth in Chile and have more than halved poverty rates.[123][30] Chile began to experience a moderate economic downturn in 1999. The economy remained sluggish until 2003, when it began to show clear signs of recovery, achieving 4.0% GDP growth.[124] The Chilean economy finished 2004 with growth of 6%. Real GDP growth reached 5.7% in 2005 before falling back to 4% in 2006. GDP expanded by 5% in 2007.[30] Faced with the financial crisis of 2007–2008 the government announced an economic stimulus plan to spur employment and growth, and despite the Great Recession, aimed for an expansion of between 2% and 3% of GDP for 2009. Nonetheless, economic analysts disagreed with government estimates and predicted economic growth at a median of 1.5%.[125] Real GDP growth in 2012 was 5.5%. Growth slowed to 4.1% in the first quarter of 2013.[126] Gran Torre Santiago and Titanium La Portada (background) skyscrapers in SanhattanThe unemployment rate was 6.4% in April 2013.[127] There are reported labor shortages in agriculture, mining, and construction.[126] The percentage of Chileans with per capita household incomes below the poverty line—defined as twice the cost of satisfying a person's minimal nutritional needs—fell from 45.1% in 1987 to 11.5% in 2009, according to government surveys.[128][129] Critics in Chile, however, argue that true poverty figures are considerably higher than those officially published.[130] Using the relative yardstick favoured in many European countries, 27% of Chileans would be poor, according to Juan Carlos Feres of the ECLAC.[131] As of November 2012, about 11.1 million people (64% of the population) benefit from government welfare programs,[132][clarification needed] via the "Social Protection Card", which includes the population living in poverty and those at a risk of falling into poverty.[133] The privatized national pension system (AFP) has encouraged domestic investment and contributed to an estimated total domestic savings rate of approximately 21% of GDP.[134] Under the compulsory private pension system, most formal sector employees pay 10% of their salaries into privately managed funds.[30] Chile has signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with a whole network of countries, including an FTA with the United States that was signed in 2003 and implemented in January 2004.[135] Internal Government of Chile figures show that even when factoring out inflation and the recent high price of copper, bilateral trade between the U.S. and Chile has grown over 60% since then.[30] Chile's total trade with China reached US$8.8 billion in 2006, representing nearly 66% of the value of its trade relationship with Asia.[30] Exports to Asia increased from US$15.2 billion in 2005 to US$19.7 billion in 2006, a 29.9% increase.[30] Year-on-year growth of imports was especially strong from a number of countries: Ecuador (123.9%), Thailand (72.1%), South Korea (52.6%), and China (36.9%).[30] Chile's approach to foreign direct investment is codified in the country's Foreign Investment Law. Registration is reported to be simple and transparent, and foreign investors are guaranteed access to the official foreign exchange market to repatriate their profits and capital.[30] The Chilean Government has formed a Council on Innovation and Competition, hoping to bring in additional FDI to new parts of the economy.[30] Standard & Poor's gives Chile a credit rating of AA-.[136] The Government of Chile continues to pay down its foreign debt, with public debt only 3.9% of GDP at the end of 2006.[30] The Chilean central government is a net creditor with a net asset position of 7% of GDP at end 2012.[126] The current account deficit was 4% in the first quarter of 2013, financed mostly by foreign direct investment.[126] 14% of central government revenue came directly from copper in 2012.[126] Mineral resources Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the worldChile is rich in mineral resources, especially copper and lithium. It is thought that due to the importance of lithium for batteries for electric vehicles and stabilization of electric grids with large proportions of intermittent renewables in the electricity mix, Chile could be strengthened geopolitically. However, this perspective has also been criticized for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production in other parts of the world.[137] The country was, in 2019, the world's largest producer of copper,[138] iodine[139] and rhenium,[140] the second largest producer of lithium[141] and molybdenum,[142] the sixth largest producer of silver,[143] the seventh largest producer of salt,[144] the eighth largest producer of potash,[145] the thirteenth producer of sulfur[146] and the thirteenth producer of iron ore[147] in the world. The country also has considerable gold production: between 2006 and 2017, the country produced annual amounts ranging from 35.9 tonnes in 2017 to 51.3 tonnes in 2013.[148] AgricultureMain article: Agriculture in Chile Vineyard in Puente AltoAgriculture in Chile encompasses a wide range of different activities due to its particular geography, climate and geology and human factors. Historically agriculture is one of the bases of Chile's economy. Now agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing account for only 4.9% of the GDP as of 2007 and employ 13.6% of the country's labor force. Chile is one of the 5 largest world producers of cherry and blueberry, and one of the 10 largest world producers of grape, apple, kiwi, peach, plum and hazelnut, focusing on exporting high-value fruits.[149] Some other major agriculture products of Chile include pears, onions, wheat, maize, oats, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool, fish, timber and hemp. Due to its geographical isolation and strict customs policies Chile is free from diseases such as mad cow disease, fruit fly and Phylloxera. This, its location in the Southern Hemisphere, which has quite different harvesting times from the Northern Hemisphere, and its wide range of agriculture conditions are considered Chile's main comparative advantages. However, Chile's mountainous landscape limits the extent and intensity of agriculture so that arable land corresponds only to 2.62% of the total territory. Chile currently utilizes 14,015 Hectares of agricultural land.[150] Chile is the world's second largest producer of salmon, after Norway. In 2019, it was responsible for 26% of the global supply.[151] In wine, Chile is usually among the 10 largest producers in the world. In 2018 it was in 6th place.[152] TourismMain article: Tourism in Chile Valparaíso Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean PatagoniaTourism in Chile has experienced sustained growth over the last few decades. In 2005, tourism grew by 13.6%, generating more than 4.5 billion dollars of which 1.5 billion was attributed to foreign tourists. According to the National Service of Tourism (Sernatur), 2 million people a year visit the country. Most of these visitors come from other countries in the American continent, mainly Argentina; followed by a growing number from the United States, Europe, and Brazil with a growing number of Asians from South Korea and China.[153] The main attractions for tourists are places of natural beauty situated in the extreme zones of the country: San Pedro de Atacama, in the north, is very popular with foreign tourists who arrive to admire the Incaic architecture, the altiplano lakes, and the Valley of the Moon.[citation needed] In Putre, also in the north, there is the Chungará Lake, as well as the Parinacota and the Pomerape volcanoes, with altitudes of 6,348 m and 6,282 m, respectively. Throughout the central Andes there are many ski resorts of international repute,[citation needed] including Portillo, Valle Nevado and Termas de Chillán. The main tourist sites in the south are national parks (the most popular is Conguillío National Park in the Araucanía)[154] and the coastal area around Tirúa and Cañete with the Isla Mocha and the Nahuelbuta National Park, Chiloé Archipelago and Patagonia, which includes Laguna San Rafael National Park, with its many glaciers, and the Torres del Paine National Park. The central port city of Valparaíso, which is World Heritage with its unique architecture, is also popular.[citation needed] Finally, Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean is one of the main Chilean tourist destinations. For locals, tourism is concentrated mostly in the summer (December to March), and mainly in the coastal beach towns.[citation needed] Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, La Serena and Coquimbo are the main summer centers in the north, and Pucón on the shores of Lake Villarrica is the main center in the south. Because of its proximity to Santiago, the coast of the Valparaíso Region, with its many beach resorts, receives the largest number of tourists. Viña del Mar, Valparaíso's more affluent northern neighbor, is popular because of its beaches, casino, and its annual song festival, the most important musical event in Latin America.[citation needed] Pichilemu in the O'Higgins Region is widely known as South America's "best surfing spot" according to Fodor's.[citation needed] In November 2005 the government launched a campaign under the brand "Chile: All Ways Surprising" intended to promote the country internationally for both business and tourism.[155] Museums in Chile such as the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts built in 1880, feature works by Chilean artists. Chile is home to the world-renowned Patagonian Trail that resides on the border between Argentina and Chile. Chile recently launched a massive scenic route for tourism in hopes of encouraging development based on conservation. The Route of Parks covers 1,740 miles (2,800 km) and was designed by Tompkin Conservation (founders Douglas Tompkins and wife Kristine).[156] TransportMain article: Transport in Chile Route 68 at the junction with Route 60Due to Chile's topography a functioning transport network is vital to its economy. In 2020, Chile had 85,984 km (53,428 mi) of highways, with 21,289 km (13,228 mi) paved.[157] In the same year, the country had 3,347 km (2,080 mi) of duplicated highways, the second largest network in South America, after Brazil.[158] Since the mid-1990s, there has been a significant improvement in the country's roads, through bidding processes that allowed the construction of an efficient road network, with emphasis on the duplication of continuous 1,950 km (1,212 mi) of the Panamerican Highway (Chile Route 5) between Puerto Montt and Caldera (in addition to the planned duplication in the Atacama Desert area),[159] the excerpts in between Santiago, Valparaiso and the Central Coast, and the northern access to Concepción and the large project of the Santiago urban highways network, opened between 2004 and 2006.[160] Buses are now the main means of long-distance transportation in Chile, following the decline of its railway network.[161] The bus system covers the entire country, from Arica to Santiago (a 30-hour journey) and from Santiago to Punta Arenas (about 40 hours, with a change at Osorno). Chile has a total of 372 runways (62 paved and 310 unpaved). Important airports in Chile include Chacalluta International Airport (Arica), Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique), Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport (Antofagasta), Carriel Sur International Airport (Concepción), El Tepual International Airport (Puerto Montt), Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport (Punta Arenas), La Araucanía International Airport (Temuco), Mataveri International Airport (Easter Island), the most remote airport in the world, as defined by distance to another airport, and the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (Santiago) with a traffic of 12,105,524 passengers in 2011. Santiago is headquarters of Latin America's largest airline holding company and Chilean flag carrier LATAM Airlines. Internet and telecommunications Torre Entel in Santiago de Chile, with the Andes mountains in the backgroundChile has a telecommunication system which covers much of the country, including Chilean insular and Antarctic bases. Privatization of the telephone system began in 1988; Chile has one of the most advanced telecommunications infrastructure in South America with a modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities and a domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations.[123] In 2012, there were 3.276 million main lines in use and 24.13 million mobile cellular telephone subscribers.[123] According to a 2012 database of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 61.42% of the Chilean population uses the internet, making Chile the country with the highest internet penetration in South America.[162] The Chilean internet country code is ".cl".[citation needed] In 2017 the government of Chile launched its first cyber security strategy, which receives technical support from the Organization of American States (OAS) Cyber Security Program of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE).[163] EnergyMain article: Energy in Chile Wind farm near Canela, ChileChile's total energy supply (TES) was 23.0GJ per capita in 2020.[164] Energy in Chile is dominated by fossil fuels, with coal, oil and gas accounting for 73.4% of the total primary energy. Biofuels and waste account for another 20.5% of primary energy supply, with the rest sourced from hydro and other renewables.[164] Electricity consumption was 68.90 TWh in 2014. Main sources of electricity in Chile are hydroelectricity, gas, oil and coal. Renewable energy in the forms of wind and solar energy are also coming into use, encouraged by collaboration since 2009 with the United States Department of Energy. The electricity industry is privatized with ENDESA as the largest company in the field. In 2021, Chile had, in terms of installed renewable electricity, 6,807 MW in hydropower (28th largest in the world), 3,137 MW in wind power (28th largest in the world), 4,468 MW in solar (22nd largest in the world), and 375 MW in biomass.[165] As the Atacama Desert has the highest solar irradiation in the world, and Chile has always had problems obtaining oil, gas and coal (the country basically does not produce them, so it has to import them), renewable energy is seen as the solution for the country's shortcomings in the energy field.[166][167] DemographicsMain article: Demographics of ChileChile's 2017 census reported a population of 17,574,003. Its rate of population growth has been decreasing since 1990, due to a declining birth rate.[168] By 2050 the population is expected to reach approximately 20.2 million people.[169] Ancestry and ethnicityMain articles: Indigenous peoples in Chile and Immigration to Chile Mapuche women of Tirúa Chileans with flags of ChileMexican professor Francisco Lizcano, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, estimated that 52.7% of Chileans were white, 39.3% were mestizo, and 8% were Amerindian.[170] In 1984, a study called Sociogenetic Reference Framework for Public Health Studies in Chile, from the Revista de Pediatría de Chile determined an ancestry of 67.9% European, and 32.1% Native American.[171][172] In 1994, a biological study determined that the Chilean composition was 64% European and 35% Amerindian.[173] The recent study in the Candela Project establishes that the genetic composition of Chile is 52% of European origin, with 44% of the genome coming from Native Americans (Amerindians), and 4% coming from Africa, making Chile a primarily mestizo country with traces of African descent present in half of the population.[174] Another genetic study conducted by the University of Brasilia in several South American countries shows a similar genetic composition for Chile, with a European contribution of 51.6%, an Amerindian contribution of 42.1%, and an African contribution of 6.3%.[175] In 2015 another study established genetic composition in 57% European, 38% Native American, and 2.5% African.[176] A public health booklet from the University of Chile states that 64% of the population is of Caucasian origin; "predominantly White" Mestizos are estimated to amount to a total of 35%, while Native Americans (Amerindians) comprise the remaining 5%.[177] Despite the genetic considerations, many Chileans, if asked, would self-identify as White. The 2011 Latinobarómetro survey asked respondents in Chile what race they considered themselves to belong to. Most answered "White" (59%), while 25% said "Mestizo" and 8% self-classified as "indigenous".[178] A 2002 national poll revealed that a majority of Chileans believed they possessed some (43.4%) or much (8.3%) "indigenous blood", while 40.3% responded that they had none.[179] Chile is one of 22 countries to have signed and ratified the only binding international law concerning indigenous peoples, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989.[180] It was adopted in 1989 as the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169. Chile ratified it in 2008. A Chilean court decision in November 2009, considered to be a landmark ruling on indigenous rights, made use of the convention. The Supreme Court decision on Aymara water rights upheld rulings by both the Pozo Almonte tribunal and the Iquique Court of Appeals and marks the first judicial application of ILO Convention 169 in Chile.[181] The earliest European immigrants were Spanish colonisers who arrived in the 16th century.[182] The Amerindian population of central Chile was absorbed into the Spanish settler population in the beginning of the colonial period to form the large mestizo population that exists in Chile today; mestizos create modern middle and lower classes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many Basques came to Chile where they integrated into the existing elites of Castilian origin. Postcolonial Chile was never a particularly attractive destination for migrants, owing to its remoteness and distance from Europe.[183][184] Europeans preferred to stay in countries closer to their homelands instead of taking the long journey through the Straits of Magellan or crossing the Andes.[183] European migration did not result in a significant change in the ethnic composition of Chile, except in the region of Magellan.[185] Spaniards were the only major European migrant group to Chile,[183] and there was never large-scale immigration such as that to Argentina or Brazil.[184] Between 1851 and 1924, Chile only received 0.5% of European immigration to Latin America, compared to 46% to Argentina, 33% to Brazil, 14% to Cuba, and 4% to Uruguay.[183] However, it is undeniable that immigrants have played a significant role in Chilean society.[184] Most of the immigrants to Chile during the 19th and 20th centuries came from France,[186] Great Britain,[187] Germany,[188] and Croatia,[189] among others. Descendants of different European ethnic groups often intermarried in Chile. This intermarriage and mixture of cultures and races have helped to shape the present society and culture of the Chilean middle and upper classes.[190] Also, roughly 500,000 of Chile's population is of full or partial Palestinian origin,[191][192] and 800,000 Arab descents.[193] Chile currently has 1.5 million of Latin American immigrants, mainly from Venezuela, Peru, Haiti, Colombia, Bolivia and Argentina; 8% of the total population in 2019, without counting descendants.[194][195] According to the 2002 national census, Chile's foreign-born population has increased by 75% since 1992.[196] As of November 2021, numbers of people entering Chile from elsewhere in Latin America have grown swiftly in the last decade, tripling in the last three years to 1.5 million, with arrivals stemming from humanitarian crises in Haiti (ca. 180,000) and Venezuela (ca 460,000).[197] UrbanizationAbout 85% of the country's population lives in urban areas, with 40% living in Greater Santiago. The largest agglomerations according to the 2002 census are Greater Santiago with 5.6 million people, Greater Concepción with 861,000 and Greater Valparaíso with 824,000.[198] vteLargest cities or towns in Chile2002 Census[199]RankNameRegionPop.Santiago MetropolisSantiago MetropolisGreater ValparaísoGreater Valparaíso1Santiago MetropolisSantiago Metropolitan Region5,428,590Greater ConcepciónGreater ConcepciónGreater La SerenaGreater La Serena2Greater ValparaísoValparaíso Region803,6833Greater ConcepciónBiobío Region666,3814Greater La SerenaCoquimbo Region296,2535AntofagastaAntofagasta Region285,2556Greater TemucoAraucanía Region260,8787Rancagua conurbationO'Higgins Region236,3638TalcaMaule Region191,1549AricaArica and Parinacota Region175,44110Chillán conurbationÑuble Region165,528ReligionMain article: Religion in ChileReligious background in Chile (2012 Census)[200][201]ReligionPercentCatholic Church 66.7%Protestantism 16.4%No religion 11.5%Others 4.5%Unspecified 1.1% Neoclassical Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral, was built between 1748 and 1899. Santiago Baháʼí Temple.As of 2012, 66.6%[202] of Chilean population over 15 years of age claimed to adhere to the Roman Catholic church, a decrease from the 70%[203] reported in the 2002 census. In the same census of 2012, 17% of Chileans reported adherence to an Evangelical church ("Evangelical" in the census referred to all Christian denominations other than the Roman Catholic and Orthodox—Greek, Persian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Armenian—churches, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses: essentially, those denominations generally still termed "Protestant" in most English-speaking lands, although Adventism is often considered an Evangelical denomination as well). Approximately 90% of Evangelical Christians are Pentecostal. but Wesleyan, Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, other Reformed, Baptist, and Methodist churches also are present amongst Chilean Evangelical churches.[204] Irreligious people, atheists, and agnostics account for around 12% of the population. By 2015, the major religion in Chile remained Christianity (68%), with an estimated 55% of Chileans belonging to the Roman Catholic church, 13% to various Evangelical churches, and just 7% adhering to any other religion. Agnostics and atheist were estimated at 25% of the population.[205] Chile has a Baháʼí religious community, and is home to the Baháʼí mother temple, or continental House of Worship, for Latin America. Completed in 2016, it serves as a space for people of all religions and backgrounds to gather, meditate, reflect, and worship.[206] It is formed from cast glass and translucent marble and has been described as innovative in its architectural style.[207] The Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contribute to generally free religious practice. The law at all levels fully protects this right against abuse by either governmental or private actors.[204] Church and state are officially separate in Chile. A 1999 law on religion prohibits religious discrimination. However, the Roman Catholic church for mostly historical and social reasons enjoys a privileged status and occasionally receives preferential treatment.[208] Government officials attend Roman Catholic events as well as major Evangelical and Jewish ceremonies.[204] The Chilean government treats the religious holidays of Christmas, Good Friday, the Feast of the Virgin of Carmen, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Feast of the Assumption, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception as national holidays.[204] Recently, the government declared 31 October, Reformation Day, to be an additional national holiday, in honor of the Evangelical churches of the country.[209][210] The patron saints of Chile are Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint James the Greater (Santiago).[211] In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Alberto Hurtado, who became the country's second native Roman Catholic saint after Teresa de los Andes.[212] LanguagesMain article: Languages of Chile Chilean proverb written in Mapuche language and Chilean Spanish. The Mapudungun alphabet used here does not reflect an agreed-upon standard. In fact, there are three distinct alphabets currently used to write the Mapuche language.[213]The Spanish spoken in Chile is distinctively accented and quite unlike that of neighboring South American countries because final syllables are often dropped, and some consonants have a soft pronunciation.[clarification needed] Accent varies only very slightly from north to south; more noticeable are the differences in accent based on social class or whether one lives in the city or the country. That the Chilean population was largely formed in a small section at the center of the country and then migrated in modest numbers to the north and south helps explain this relative lack of differentiation, which was maintained by the national reach of radio, and now television, which also helps to diffuse and homogenize colloquial expressions.[30] There are several indigenous languages spoken in Chile: Mapudungun, Aymara, Rapa Nui, Chilean Sign Language and (barely surviving) Qawasqar and Yaghan, along with non-indigenous German, Italian, English, Greek and Quechua. After the Spanish conquest, Spanish took over as the lingua franca and the indigenous languages have become minority languages, with some now extinct or close to extinction.[214] German is still spoken to some extent in southern Chile,[215] either in small countryside pockets or as a second language among the communities of larger cities. Through initiatives such as the English Opens Doors Program, the government made English mandatory for students in fifth grade and above in public schools. Most private schools in Chile start teaching English from kindergarten.[216] Common English words have been absorbed and appropriated into everyday Spanish speech.[217] HealthMain article: Healthcare in Chile Card of National Health Fund (Fonasa)The Ministry of Health (Minsal) is the cabinet-level administrative office in charge of planning, directing, coordinating, executing, controlling and informing the public health policies formulated by the President of Chile. The National Health Fund (Fonasa), created in 1979, is the financial entity entrusted to collect, manage and distribute state funds for health in Chile. It is funded by the public. All employees pay 7% of their monthly income to the fund.[218] Fonasa is part of the NHSS and has executive power through the Ministry of Health (Chile). Its headquarters are in Santiago and decentralized public service is conducted by various Regional Offices. More than 12 million beneficiaries benefit from Fonasa. Beneficiaries can also opt for more costly private insurance through Isapre. EducationMain articles: Education in Chile and List of universities in Chile Casa Central of the University of Chile in SantiagoIn Chile, education begins with preschool until the age of 5. Primary school is provided for children between ages 6 and 13. Students then attend secondary school until graduation at age 17. Secondary education is divided into two parts: During the first two years, students receive a general education. Then, they choose a branch: scientific humanistic education, artistic education, or technical and professional education. Secondary school ends two years later on the acquirement of a certificate (licencia de enseñanza media).[219] Chilean education is segregated by wealth in a three-tiered system – the quality of the schools reflects socioeconomic backgrounds: city schools (colegios municipales) that are mostly free and have the worst education results, mostly attended by poor students;subsidized schools that receive some money from the government which can be supplemented by fees paid by the student's family, which are attended by mid-income students and typically get mid-level results; andentirely private schools that consistently get the best results. Many private schools charge attendance fees of 0,5 to 1 median household income.[220]Upon successful graduation of secondary school, students may continue into higher education. The higher education schools in Chile consist of Chilean Traditional Universities and are divided into public universities or private universities. There are medical schools and both the Universidad de Chile and Universidad Diego Portales offer law schools in a partnership with Yale University.[221] CultureMain articles: Culture of Chile, Music of Chile, and Chilean cuisine La Zamacueca, by Manuel Antonio Caro.From the period between early agricultural settlements and up to the late pre-Columbian period, northern Chile was a region of Andean culture that was influenced by altiplano traditions spreading to the coastal valleys of the north, while southern regions were areas of Mapuche cultural activities. Throughout the colonial period following the conquest, and during the early Republican period, the country's culture was dominated by the Spanish. Other European influences, primarily English, French, and German began in the 19th century and have continued to this day. German migrants influenced the Bavarian style rural architecture and cuisine in the south of Chile in cities such as Valdivia, Frutillar, Puerto Varas, Osorno, Temuco, Puerto Octay, Llanquihue, Faja Maisan, Pitrufquén, Victoria, Pucón and Puerto Montt.[222][223][224][225][226] Music and danceMusic in Chile ranges from folkloric, popular and classical music. Its large geography generates different musical styles in the north, center and south of the country, including also Easter Island and Mapuche music.[227] The national dance is the cueca. Another form of traditional Chilean song, though not a dance, is the tonada. Arising from music imported by the Spanish colonists, it is distinguished from the cueca by an intermediate melodic section and a more prominent melody. Between 1950 and 1970 appears a rebirth in folk music leading by groups such as Los de Ramón, Los Cuatro Huasos and Los Huasos Quincheros, among others[228] with composers such as Raúl de Ramón, Violeta Parra and others. In the mid-1960s native musical forms were revitalized by the Parra family with the Nueva canción Chilena, which was associated with political activists and reformers such as Víctor Jara, Inti-Illimani, and Quilapayún. Other important folk singer and researcher on folklore and Chilean ethnography, is Margot Loyola. Also, many Chilean rock bands like Los Jaivas, Los Prisioneros, La Ley, and Los Tres have reached international success. In February, annual music festivals are held in Viña del Mar.[229] LiteraturePablo NerudaGabriela MistralPablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral, Nobel Prize recipients in literatureChile is a country of poets.[230] Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature (1945). Chile's most famous poet is Pablo Neruda, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature (1971) and is world-renowned for his extensive library of works on romance, nature, and politics. His three highly personalized homes in Isla Negra, Santiago and Valparaíso are popular tourist destinations. Among the list of other Chilean poets are Carlos Pezoa Véliz, Vicente Huidobro, Gonzalo Rojas, Pablo de Rokha, Nicanor Parra, Ivonne Coñuecar and Raúl Zurita. Isabel Allende is the best-selling Chilean novelist, with 51 million of her novels sold worldwide.[231] Novelist José Donoso's novel The Obscene Bird of Night is considered by critic Harold Bloom to be one of the canonical works of 20th-century Western literature. Another internationally recognized Chilean novelist and poet is Roberto Bolaño whose translations into English have had an excellent reception from the critics.[232][233][234] Cuisine Chilean asado (barbecue) and marraquetaChilean cuisine is a reflection of the country's topographical variety, featuring an assortment of seafood, beef, fruits, and vegetables. Traditional recipes include asado, cazuela, empanadas, humitas, pastel de choclo, pastel de papas, curanto, and sopaipillas.[235] Crudos is an example of the mixture of culinary contributions from the various ethnic influences in Chile. The raw minced llama, heavy use of shellfish, and rice bread were taken from native Quechua Andean cuisine, (although beef, brought to Chile by Europeans, is also used in place of the llama meat), lemon and onions were brought by the Spanish colonists, and the use of mayonnaise and yogurt was introduced by German immigrants, as was beer. FolkloreMain article: Chilean mythologyThe folklore of Chile, cultural and demographic characteristics of the country, is the result of the mixture of Spanish and Amerindian elements that occurred during the colonial period. Due to cultural and historical reasons, they are classified and distinguished four major areas in the country: northern areas, central, southern and south. Most of the traditions of the culture of Chile have a festive purpose, but some, such as dances and ceremonies, have religious components. [236] Chilean mythology is the mythology and beliefs of the Folklore of Chile. This includes Chilote mythology, Rapa Nui mythology and Mapuche mythology. SportsMain article: Sport in Chile Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez PrádanosChile's most popular sport is association football. Chile has appeared in nine FIFA World Cups which includes hosting the 1962 FIFA World Cup where the national football team finished third. Other results achieved by the national football team include two Copa América titles (2015 and 2016), two runners-up positions, one silver and two bronze medals at the Pan American Games, a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and two third places finishes in the FIFA under-17 and under-20 youth tournaments. The top league in the Chilean football league system is the Chilean Primera División, which is named by the IFFHS as the ninth strongest national football league in the world.[237] The main football clubs are Colo-Colo, Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica. Colo-Colo is the country's most successful football club, having both the most national and international championships, including the coveted Copa Libertadores South American club tournament. Universidad de Chile was the last international champion (Copa Sudamericana 2011). Tennis is Chile's most successful sport. Its national team won the World Team Cup clay tournament twice (2003 & 2004), and played the Davis Cup final against Italy in 1976. At the 2004 Summer Olympics the country captured gold and bronze in men's singles and gold in men's doubles (Nicolás Massú obtained two gold medals). Marcelo Ríos became the first Latin American man to reach the number one spot in the ATP singles rankings in 1998. Anita Lizana won the US Open in 1937, becoming the first woman from Latin America to win a Grand Slam tournament. Luis Ayala was twice a runner-up at the French Open and both Ríos and Fernando González reached the Australian Open men's singles finals. González also won a silver medal in singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At the Summer Olympic Games Chile boasts a total of two gold medals (tennis), seven silver medals (athletics, equestrian, boxing, shooting and tennis) and four bronze medals (tennis, boxing and football). In 2012, Chile won its first Paralympic Games medal (gold in Athletics). The Chilean national polo team with President Michelle Bachelet and the trophy of the 2015 World Polo Championship.Rodeo is the country's national sport and is practiced in the more rural areas of the nation. A sport similar to hockey called chueca was played by the Mapuche people during the Spanish conquest. Skiing and snowboarding are practiced at ski centers located in the Central Andes, and in southern ski centers near to cities as Osorno, Puerto Varas, Temuco and Punta Arenas. Surfing is popular at some coastal towns. Polo is professionally practiced within Chile, with the country achieving top prize in the 2008 and 2015 World Polo Championship. Basketball is a popular sport in which Chile earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship held in 1950 and won a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship. Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women in 1953 finishing the tournament with the silver medal. San Pedro de Atacama is host to the annual "Atacama Crossing", a six-stage, 250-kilometer (160 mi) footrace which annually attracts about 150 competitors from 35 countries. The Dakar Rally off-road automobile race has been held in both Chile and Argentina since 2009. Cultural heritageThe cultural heritage of Chile consists, first, of its intangible heritage, composed of various cultural events and activities, such as visual arts, crafts, dances, holidays, cuisine, games, music and traditions. Secondly, its tangible heritage consists of those buildings, objects and sites of archaeological, architectural, traditional, artistic, ethnographic, folkloric, historical, religious or technological significance scattered through Chilean territory. Among them, some are declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972, ratified by Chile in 1980. These cultural sites are the Rapa Nui National Park (1995), the Churches of Chiloé (2000), the historical district of the port city of Valparaíso (2003), Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works (2005) and the mining city Sewell (2006). In 1999 Cultural Heritage Day was established as a way to honour and commemorate Chile's cultural heritage. It is an official national event celebrated in May every year.[238] See also

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