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
Santiago Province, Chile Santiago Province, Chile Santiago Province () is one of the six provinces of the Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM) of central Chile. It encompasses the majority of the population of that region, including 31 of the 36 communities of Greater Santiago. The province spans . As a province, Santiago is a second-level administrative division of Chile. Unlike all other provinces of Chile, which are governed by a provincial governor appointed by the president, the duties of provincial governor are instead carried out by the intendant of the Santiago Metropolitan Region who is also appointed by the president. In January 2001, the