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
Chile–Italy relations Chile–Italy relations Chile–Italy relations are the bilateral relations between Chile and Italy. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1864 after Chilean President José Joaquín Pérez recognized the new Italian state. Chile broke relations with Italy (as well as Germany and Japan) on January 20, 1943 but they were reestablished following the end of World War II. Chile currently has an embassy in Rome and a general consulate in Milan. In late 2010 a bomb exploded at the Chilean embassy, wounding the employee who opened the package in which the bomb was hidden. An employee of the Swiss embassy in