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Chile

Republic of Chile

Civil lawUnitary presidential republicReviewed· 2026-08-02
Capital
Santiago
Population
19,600,000
Languages
Spanish
Currency
CLP

Chile · Constitution

Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile

Enacted under the military government in 1980 and heavily amended in 1989, 2005 and 2019-2021. The 2005 reform is treated as a re-founding: it stripped out the authoritarian enclaves and the President signed a re-published text. Two replacement drafts were written by elected bodies and both were voted down, in September 2022 and December 2023.

The constitutional text

Enacted under the military government in 1980 and heavily amended in 1989, 2005 and 2019-2021. The 2005 reform is treated as a re-founding: it stripped out the authoritarian enclaves and the President signed a re-published text. Two replacement drafts were written by elected bodies and both were voted down, in September 2022 and December 2023.

Separation of powers

Unitary. Sixteen regions administer but do not legislate. Regional governors have been directly elected since 2021, which shifted real power away from the centrally appointed delegates, but legislative competence remains exclusively national.

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