ABSTRACT
Chile, a country on an elongated strip of land running 2,650 miles into the farthest southern reaches of the earth, was among the world's pioneers in experimenting with democratic constitutional principles. After gaining independence from Spain, the nation unfailingly renewed national and municipal authorities through electoral contests from the late 1820s until well into the twentieth century, creating a pattern of political stability that was unusual in Latin America. Given the frequency and importance of elections, Chile also developed, from the mid-nineteenth century on, strong political parties that, while changing over time, have dominated its political life. There was a broad elite consensus on the merits of an outward-oriented development policy. Landowners in the central valley, miners in the north, and merchants in Santiago and in port cities all benefited from and promoted an economy based on the export of primary goods in the production of which the country had a decisive advantage. Most manufactured products were imported.
