ABSTRACT
Students of Latin American politics have often characterized Chile as one of the most stable and democratic countries in that part of the world. In Russell Fitzgibbon’s periodic surveys of Latin Americanists on the state of democracy in the region, Chile is consistently placed among the two or three “most democratic” polities. 1 More recent studies using aggregate data have also ranked Chile high on measures of “democratic stability” and “political development.” 2 Indeed, Chile has had a long history of constitutional government and respect for the verdict of its limited electorate. Since 1830, most of the country’s presidents have been constitutionally elected and have served their terms of office without being deposed. The only exceptions to this pattern occurred (1) in 1891, when congressional forces challenged President José Manuel Balmaceda, and (2) in the chaotic period between 1924 and 1932 when several chief executives were forced to resign and military officers intervened directly in the formation of governments. 3
