ABSTRACT
Chile is a long and isolated country. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Andes Mountains on the other, and despite its length of 2,653 miles (4,270 kilometers), it is highly centralized. Various initiatives, especially by the government, have sought to change this situation, but none have been able to alter the fact that the capital, Santiago, is very powerful. The 2002 census showed that a third of the Chilean population lives in the capital (INE 2003), despite the government’s efforts to change the situation.
