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Chile from 1970 to 1973

 

             The rural population in the centralized valley of Chile has an abundance of long, dry, warm summers. Here one finds moderate sized haciendas and an underlying civil order that maintains the region. The North's mining district has abundant resources of copper, nitrate, and gold. In the South, many immigrant landowners claim that the winters are long, hard and rainy. This area is home to the largest concentration of Mapuche Indians and has the biggest distance between themselves and the center of power in Santiago. Santiago is Chile's only spectacular city that houses three million people or one third of the nation's population. Despite the relative size and population of this city, Santiago remains provincial and maintains a small town atmosphere. .
             Since the 18th century, Chile had been ruled by the aristocrats who monopolized mining and controlled large plots of land. The aristocrats were mostly wealthy, working middle class individuals that also controlled the government as well. They tried to respect the rights of all political parties, but significantly favored the Christian Democrats on the Right. Opposition by the aristocrats in regards to other social groups in Chile was encountered in every aspect of society. In banks, courts, media, and Congress, members of this elite class permeated every social, economic, and political sector of Chilean life.
             One group that encountered such opposition was the middle class, who worked in the copper mines and also in shipping. Many were English immigrants, who accepted the pre-existing democratic structure of the government. They tried several times to organize and obtain more influence in legislation dealing with their industry, but consistently failed. Eventually the middle class, from their desire to obtain more control, incorporated themselves into political parties like the Conservatives, Radicals, and Liberals. .
             Middle class miners shared a special camaraderie because they shared the same exhausting work and lived in the same clustered villages.


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