Chile is a diverse and interesting country, that's about the size of Texas, but has the same amount of life as the whole United States.
The Land
Chile has a very unusual shape. It is long and narrow, wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean, there in no point in the country when it is wider than 250 miles.
Chile is also a land of extremes; the highest mountain is Cerro Ojos del Salado that stands 22,550 feet high. Chile has many land variations. There are dry deserts in the north of Chile. In the center of Chile are peaceful farms. There are fjords and penguins at Chile's southern end.
The Government
The government is a republic, is led by the president, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. There is a 120 Chamber of Deputies who are elected every four years, and a 38 member senate who are elected every eight years, with nine senators being appointed by the outgoing dictator Pinochet. The Judicial power is exercised by a 17 member Supreme Court and 16 regional courts. All judges are appointed by the president from lists submitted by the Supreme Court.
The People
Chile is very similar to the United States in regards to people. Chile is a melting pot of different types of people. Seventy-nine percent of the people in Chile are mestizos a people of mixed Indian and White ancestry. The remaining twenty percent of the people in Chile are German, Swiss, Italian, British, French, and Slavs who emigrated from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The amount of European people that came to the country is small but they make up many of Chile's distinguished families.
Some of the most important Chilean Indians are the Araucanians. The Araucanians were warlike and lived chiefly by hunting and fishing. They were the only large Indian group in South America never to be defeated. Neither the Incas nor the Spanish could conquer them completely. Most of the pure blooded Araucanians live in the rain-soaked forests the Bio-Bio River.
The Life of People
The Chilean culture in based on the customs of the Spanish. Most of the people are Roman Catholic, like Spain.
There are many large farms call fundos in central Chile. Today the fundos are large self contained communities. The labors of the fundos are inquilinos, tenant farmers. The living conditions for the inquilinos has improved much with modern cultivation and harvesting methods.
Tenant farmers have been looking for better jobs since colonial times. Roads, railroads, and dams are some of the things they have built. Some of them even participated in the US gold rush. Today most of the former tenant farmers work in factories and stores. But, some have become doctors, teachers, lawyers, and government officials.
If you're ever visiting a Chilean home, you will always find tea, fruit, and homemade bread and cheese to offer visitors. There are several common dishes for instance cazuela which is a thin stew with beans, corn potatoes, and meat. Empanadas are pastries filled with meat, onions, and peppers. There is also another type of stew called congrio, eel. Erizos, are spiny sea urchins are a favorite. Chile has many vineyards and wine in served with almost every meal.
Chileans are very fond of Sports. Chileans enjoy horse racing, polo, basketball, cricket, skiing, swimming, fishing, and fútbol.
Education
Chileans believe strongly in education and 93.4 percent of Chilean adults are literate. There are free schools and schooling is required for people of ages 6 through 14. There are many Universities in Chile, including the University of Chile in Santiago, The Catholic University of Chile, the State technical University, and Concepción.
Chile is very interesting and it is constantly changing, people, government, sports, and education.
Bibliography
Loveman, Brian, Chile, Oxford University Press, New York, 1979
Facts on File, Chile & Allende, Facts on File, INC., New York, 1974
Bowen, J., Chile, Grolier, Danbury, 1982