 | |
 Chile |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Chile, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Santiago |
| Envoy | |
| Chilean Ambassador to the United StatesJuan Gabriel Valdés | American Ambassador to ChileBernadette M. Meehan |
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The relationship betweenChile and theUnited States, which dates back to the 19th century, has improved significantly since 1988 and is better than at any other time in history. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the US government applauded the rebirth of democratic practices in Chile, despite having supported the1973 coup d'état and subsequent military regime.
Regarded as one of the least corrupt and most vibrant democracies inSouth America, with a healthy economy, Chile is noted as being one of the closest strategic allies of the United States in the Southern Hemisphere, along withColombia, and remains part of theInter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. A prime example of cooperation includes the landmark 2003Chile–United States Free Trade Agreement. Chile is also the first South American nation to gain membership in theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development with the United States, as well as the only Latin American country to be included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.
The governments consult frequently on issues including multilateraldiplomacy,security, culture and science. Recently the governments have signed agreements oneducation andgreen energy.
According to several global opinion polls,Chileans have a considerably positive opinion of the U.S., with 72% of Chileans viewing the U.S. favorably in 2015,[1] and 62% of Chileans viewing American influence positively in 2013, the highest rating for any surveyed country inLatin America.[2] According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 42% of Chileans approve of U.S. leadership, with 25% disapproving and 32% uncertain.[3]
A colony of Spain, Chile previously had been an audiencia of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Napoleon's French armies invaded Spain in 1808 and imposed a new ruler. The invasion sparked revolutionary movements in Spain's American colonies. Chilean revolutionaries declared Chile's independence on September 18, 1810. Several years of fighting followed, but by 1822 U.S.James Monroe concluded that Spain was unable to recover its colonies. He decided on recognition and asked Congress for funds for Ministers Plenipotentiary for Chile, La Plata (Argentina), Colombia, Peru, and Mexico. Spain protested, but Congress provided the funding in mid-1822. In 1823, Monroe namedHeman Allen of Vermont as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to Chile.[4]
After 1864 a series of small issues worsened relations. Chilean businessmen preferred working with British merchants.
Washington favored Peru during Chile'sWar of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia 1879 until 1884. It tried to bring an early end to the long-lasting war mainly because of US business and financial interests inPeru. Moreover, Washington worried that British merchants would take economic control of the region through Chile.[5] Peace negotiations failed when a stipulation required Chile to return the conquered lands. Chileans suspected the new US initiative was tainted with a pro-Peruvian bias. As a result, relations between Chile and the United States took a turn for the worse.[6]
Chile instead asked that the United States remain neutral. The United States Pacific Squadron only contained a few wooden vessels, and Chile had two new armored warships. The U.S. knew they were unable to match Chilean naval power and backed down.[7]
In 1891 Washington favored the losing side in acivil war. It blocked the transfer of arms purchased illegally in California by the rebels in theItata incident. The US minister harbored dozens of leaders of the losing faction in the embassy; they eventually left on American ships. To protect American interests during the civil warPresident Benjamin Harrison and his aggressive Navy SecretaryBenjamin F. Tracy sent a warship, the "USS Baltimore"; unwisely the captain allowed shore leave for his men in the hostile port of Valparaiso. Trouble escalated into a street brawl, with two Americans dead, 17 injured and 36 in jail. This led to the major "Baltimore crisis" between the two nations, with loose talk of possible war. Chile at first denied responsibility, and the foreign minister attacked the U.S. Harrison demanded full satisfaction as a point of honor and demanded $75,000 in reparations. European powers favored Chile; they recognized American dominance in the region and did not intervene. Argentina, and Peru, and to a lesser extent Brazil, had their own grievances against Chile and supported the U.S. Chile capitulated to Washington's terms and afterward built up its navy and its European connections.[8][9]
In thepost-war period, the US increasingly saw Chile as a strategically important ally in Latin America. Under PresidentKennedy, the 1961Alliance for Progress promoted economic development in Chile. Chile was one of the main recipients of this US aid. From 1962 to 1969, the country received economic aid from the US to promote infrastructure, education, and agricultural reforms. An important motive for this was to contain the Chilean left, which was demanding the nationalization of Chile's copper deposits under US control, which overshadowed relations from the 1960s onwards.[10][11]
The US attempted to establish theChristian Democratic Party (PDC) as a bulwark against the shift to the left. In 1964,Eduardo Frei Montalva received US support for his election campaign to secure his election as president. Frei's government pursued a moderate policies: it implemented initial land reforms and negotiated a compromise on the partial “Chileanization” of copper. In 1967,Kennecott sold a 51% stake in theEl Teniente mine to the Chilean state.[10] The growing socialist camp aroundSalvador Allende, on the other hand, worried Washington. US companies feared the nationalization of their assets in the country. In 1970,Richard Nixon set up a secret operation to prevent Allende's election, and theCIA was instructed to sabotage his campaign.[12] At the same time, theNixon administration openly said that an Allende government was not desired. In the weeks leading up to the elections, the US covertly financed opposition parties and strikes (e.g., truck drivers' strikes). However, all of this was unsuccessful: Allende won a narrow victory in theelections in October 1970 and was ultimately confirmed as president.[13]
The inauguration was followed by a prolonged period of social and political unrest between the right-wing dominatedCongress of Chile and Allende, as well as an economic war led by Washington to destabilize the Allende government. US President Richard Nixon had promised to “make the economy scream” in order to prevent Allende from taking power or to overthrow him.[14] As early as 1970, Chilean GeneralRené Schneider was killed in a CIA-backed coup attempt by right-wing forces. On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military finally staged asuccessful coup against President Allende, who took his own life in the presidential palace. High-ranking US officials had followed the coup with prior knowledge, and files from that period prove that US government agencies supported the circles around the coup leader Pinochet.[15] In a conversation published later, security advisorHenry Kissinger remarked, “We didn't do it. I mean we helped them.”[16] After the coup, General Pinochet established a brutal military dictatorship. Thousands of opponents of the regime were killed or “disappeared,” tens of thousands were tortured or imprisoned, with the approval or even support of the US. Chile became a staunch pillar of the US-backed anti-communist alliance in Latin America. Pinochet's regime joined the so-called “Operation Condor,” a secret intelligence network of anti-communist dictatorships in South America that, with Washington's approval, systematically persecuted and murdered opponents across borders in the 1970s and 1980s.[17]
Economically, the military government opened Chile to the free market. The so-calledChicago Boys, a group of Chilean economists trained at theUniversity of Chicago, implemented radical reforms. They closed state-owned enterprises, weakened trade unions, and introduced a privately financed pension system. These reforms began after a meeting between US economistMilton Friedman and Pinochet in 1975. TheChilean economy thus served as a testing ground for laterneoliberal reforms by theReagan administration in the US.[13] Under the principle ofrealpolitik introduced by Kissinger, the US under Richard Nixon and laterGerald Ford openly supported the Chilean military dictatorship. In 1976, however, under the influence of SenatorTed Kennedy, theUS Congress banned arms sales to Chile.[16] During the term ofJimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981, who denounced human rights violations in Chile, Washington changed its course. However, Carter was not prepared to completely abandon his anti-communist allies, even after an investigation in 1978 established his responsibility for theassassination of dissidentOrlando Letelier (killed by acar bomb in Washington, D.C., in 1976), in which the advice of his security advisorZbigniew Brzeziński played a role.[18] Carter's successor,Ronald Reagan, initially brought the US closer to the Pinochet regime again, but during his second term, under public pressure, he began to call on Pinochet to pave the way for a new beginning in the country, as the brutality of his regime was becoming an increasing burden on the credibility of the US.[19][16]
With the end of Pinochet's rule (referendum in 1988, resignation in 1990), relations improved again. The US quickly recognized Chile's democratic government under PresidentPatricio Aylwin and from now on liked to refer to Chile as a reliable partner. Economic integration increased: in 2003, both countries signed a bilateral free trade agreement. This came into force in 2004 and within a few years abolished most tariffs on industrial products and (gradually) on agricultural goods, enabling Chile to become one of the US's most important trading partners in Latin America.
In February 2014, the U.S. government officially announced that it had added Chile to theVisa Waiver Program, enabling all Chilean citizens to travel the United States without payment of a fee beginning in May and making Chile the only nation in Latin America to possess such a privilege, one usually afforded to only the closest allies and partners of the U.S., such as countries of Europe,Australia,New Zealand,Japan,South Korea andTaiwan.[20][21][22]
In addition to working closely with Chilean government officials to strengthen their bilateral relationship, the U.S.Embassy inSantiago provides a range of services toU.S. citizens and businesses in Chile (see the embassy's home page for details of these services.) The embassy also is the focus for a number of American community activities in the Santiago area.
The public affairs section cooperates with universities andnon-governmental organizations on programs, including U.S. Speaker, International Visitor, andFulbright programs. Themes of include trade, international security, democratic governance in the region, judicial reform,law enforcement, environmental issues, and the teaching ofEnglish. The public affairs section works daily with Chileanmedia. It also assists visiting foreign media, including U.S.journalists, and is regularly involved in press events for high-level visitors.[clarification needed]
Attachés at the embassy from the Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, and theAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service work closely with the hundreds of U.S. companies who export to or maintain offices in Chile. These officers provide information on Chilean trade and industry regulations and administer several programs intended to support U.S. companies in Chile.
The Consular Section of the embassy provides services to U.S. citizens residing in Chile, currently of 19,000 people. It assists Americans voting in U.S.elections while abroad, provides U.S. tax information, and facilitates government benefit and social security payments. About 170,000 U.S. citizens visit Chile each year. The Consular Section offers passport and emergency services to U.S. tourists during their stay in Chile. It also issues about 40,000 visitorvisas a year to Chilean citizens who travel to the United States.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State. and This article incorporatespublic domain material fromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State.
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