History of Chile him to Spain. Thereafter, Pinochet returned to Chile in March 2000. Upon descending the plane on his wheelchair, he stood up and saluted the cheering crowd of supporters, including an army band playing his favorite military march tunes, which was awaiting him at the airport in Santiago. President Ricardo Lagos later commented that the retired general's televised arrival had damaged the image of Chile, while thousands demonstrated against him. The "Concertación" coalition has continued to dominate Chilean politics for last two decades. In January 2006 Chileans elected their first woman president, Michelle Bachelet, of the Socialist Party. She was sworn
Geography of Chile of the Pacific was fought between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru in the late 1800s. Peru and Bolivia had rich nitrate deposits. However, Peru established a monopoly over their state deposits and Bolivia added export tariffs to Chile. After the war, Chile had won 120,000 sq km of land that included Antofagasta on the coastline of Bolivia. This has left Bolivia landlocked since 1904. Bolivia still fights for coastal and territorial sovereignty. Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, believes that Bolivia being landlocked has made the country endure great "historical injustice". Morales also argues that if Chile were to give back