Arica

Arica (English /əˈriːkə/ uh-REE-kuh) is a commune and a port city with a population of 196,590 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only 18 km (11 mi) south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region. Arica is located at the bend of South America's western coast known as the Arica Bend or Arica Elbow. At the location of the city two lush valleys that dissect the Atacama Desert converge: Azapa and Lluta. These valleys provides fruit for export.

Arica is an important port for a large inland region of South America. The city serves a free port for Bolivia and manages a substantial part of that country's trade. In addition it is the end station of the Bolivian oil pipeline beginning in Oruro. The city's strategic position is enhanced by being next to the Pan-American Highway, being connected to both Tacna in Peru and La Paz in Bolivia by railroad and being served by an international airport.

Chile

Coordinates: 30°S 71°W / 30°S 71°W / -30; -71

Chile (/ˈtʃɪli/;Spanish: [ˈtʃile]), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish:  República de Chile ), is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.

The arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.

Arica y Parinacota Region

The XV Arica and Parinacota Region (Spanish: XV Región de Arica y Parinacota) is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the east and Chile's Tarapacá Region to the south. It is also the country's newest region, created under Law 20.175. It became operational on October 8, 2007. Chile's former Tarapacá region was a former Peruvian province, which was occupied by Chile under the 1883 Treaty of Ancón at the close of the War of the Pacific, and then formally annexed in 1929 by the Treaty of Lima.

Administration

In 2007, the region was subdivided to create the Arica y Parinacota region and the present day Tarapacá Region to the south. The region is further subdivided into two provinces: Arica and Parinacota.

Demography

According to data from the 2002 Census of INE, the region is populated by 189 644 inhabitants. Its density reaches 11.2 inhabitants per km ².

This region holds the largest population of indigenous peoples of Chile: the Quechua, Aymara, Atacameno, Diaguita, Mapuche and Kaweskar (Alacaluf or Qwakshar) transplanted from Central Chile. A significant number of immigrants from neighboring Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. Included are those of Asian descent, such as Chinese and Japanese; and Arabs from Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Most of the country's Afro-Chileans live in the Arica province, descended from slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are a large number of Roma people or Gypsies in the Arica province as well, originated from Eastern Europe in the late 19th century.

Iquique

Iquique (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈkike], ee-KEE-kay) is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal which is part of Atacama Desert. It had a population of 180,601 according to the 2012 census. It is also the main commune of the Greater Iquique. The city developed during the heyday of the saltpetre mining in Atacama Desert in the 19th century. Originally a Peruvian city with a large Chilean population it was ceded to Chile as result of War of the Pacific (1879–1883). Today it is one of only two free ports of Chile.

History

Although the city was founded in the 16th century, there is evidence of habitation in the area by the Chango people as early as 7,000 BC. During colonial times, Iquique was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru as much of South America was at the time, and remained part of Peruvian territory until the end of the 19th century. Iquique's early development was due in large part to the discovery of mineral riches, particularly the presence of large deposits of sodium nitrate in the Atacama Desert (then part of Peruvian territory).

Augusto Pinochet

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet (Spanish pronunciation: [auˈɣusto pinoˈʃā] or Spanish pronunciation: [auˈɣusto pinoˈtʃet]; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006), was dictator of Chile between 1973 and 1990 and Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army from 1973 to 1998. He was also president of the Government Junta of Chile between 1973 and 1981.

Pinochet assumed power in Chile following a United States-backed coup d'état on 11 September 1973 that overthrew the elected socialist Unidad Popular government of President Salvador Allende and ended civilian rule. Several academics have stated that the support of the United States was crucial to the coup and the consolidation of power afterward. Pinochet had been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Army by Allende on 23 August 1973, having been its General Chief of Staff since early 1972. In December 1974, the ruling military junta appointed Pinochet President of Chile by joint decree, although without the support of one of the coup's instigators, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh.