ABSTRACT
The Chilean armed forces had given the impression of being removed from national politics for more than forty years. The concentration of political-military power, as in Chile, offers less of an opportunity for stability and long-range solidification of the military regime. The military insurrection of 1973 must be situated within the general framework of the historical development of the Chilean armed forces. From this perspective we will analyze the political and military reasons for the coup; the political functions the armed forces currently carry out; the principal characteristics of the military's institutional development; and the prospects for change in the military government. It is instructive to compare Chile's political-military situation with that of the Argentine and Brazilian military governments, which have had periodic changes of the head of state. The institutional support that the armed forces give to the regime exists within an economic and social "model" that contradicts the traditional military project for the remaking of Chilean society.
