Chile

List of Chile articles

Visitors stand on a salt mound at an Albemarle Corporation lithium mine in the Atacama Desert, Chile, on Aug. 24, 2022.
Visitors stand on a salt mound at an Albemarle Corporation lithium mine in the Atacama Desert, Chile, on Aug. 24, 2022.

How Chile’s Politics Are Shaping the Global Energy Transition

Chile’s rightward lurch is an opportunity to expand the supply of lithium, a critical battery resource.

Supporters of Chile’s far-right Republican Party celebrate the victory of their candidates during an election to choose members of a new constitutional council in Santiago on May 7.
Supporters of Chile’s far-right Republican Party celebrate the victory of their candidates during an election to choose members of a new constitutional council in Santiago on May 7.

Chile’s Constitutional Whiplash

Progressives championed a rewrite. Now right-wing parties are in control.

Rectangular yellow, green, and blue pools are shown from an aerial view in the desert.
Rectangular yellow, green, and blue pools are shown from an aerial view in the desert.

Can South American Lithium Power Biden’s Battery Plans?

Washington needs lithium—but its history of intervention in the region complicates things.

A house burns in Santa Juana, Concepcion province, Chile, on Feb. 3.
A house burns in Santa Juana, Concepcion province, Chile, on Feb. 3.

Chile’s Indigenous Heartland Ignites, Again

Leftist President Gabriel Boric has been reluctant to tackle arson in Mapuche communities to avoid alienating his base.

A view of a forest fire in Purén, Chile, on Feb. 4.
A view of a forest fire in Purén, Chile, on Feb. 4.

Climate Change Looms Behind South America’s Heat Wave

The dry heat has worsened deadly forest fires in Chile and caused expensive droughts in Argentina’s and Uruguay’s agriculture sectors.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Volkswagen’s Pacheco vehicle plant in General Pacheco, Argentina, on Jan. 29.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Volkswagen’s Pacheco vehicle plant in General Pacheco, Argentina, on Jan. 29.

Germany’s Scholz Calls for a New Approach to the Lithium Rush

On a visit to South America, the chancellor pitched partnership rather than exploitation.

My Imaginary Country connects Chile's complex history to contemporary revolutionary social movements and the election of a new president.
My Imaginary Country connects Chile's complex history to contemporary revolutionary social movements and the election of a new president.

Idealism Rules in Patricio Guzmán’s Chile

The exiled filmmaker’s latest work is a passionate—if incomplete—account of the 2019 estallido and its aftermath.

Environmental activists protest against the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, sometimes abbreviated as the TTP, in Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 11.
Environmental activists protest against the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, sometimes abbreviated as the TTP, in Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 11.

Boric Is Trapped on Trade

Resource-rich Chile stands to profit off the energy transition—if its leftist president signs a deal despised by his base.

-Chilean Constitution Negotiators-podcast-square-FPsite
-Chilean Constitution Negotiators-podcast-square-FPsite

Chileans Wanted a New Constitution, but Negotiators Failed Them

Historically, voters around the world have approved new constitutions 94 percent of the time. What went wrong this time?

Two people stand on a sandy expanse, with blue water in the background.
Two people stand on a sandy expanse, with blue water in the background.

Can South America Take Advantage of the Lithium Boom?

Ramping up production may be harder than it sounds in the “lithium triangle.”

Chilean President Gabriel Boric looks on during a ceremony at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 6.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric looks on during a ceremony at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 6.

How Chile’s Constitution Revolution Missed the Mark

It’s back to the drawing board for the country—and President Gabriel Boric.

Supporters of Chile’s proposed new constitution attend a closing campaign rally ahead of a Sept. 4 referendum in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 1.
Supporters of Chile’s proposed new constitution attend a closing campaign rally ahead of a Sept. 4 referendum in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 1.

Why Chileans Might Vote to Keep Their Dictatorship-Era Constitution

Whatever happens in Sunday’s referendum, the constitutional debate is far from over.

Elisa Loncon (front left), a Mapuche activist and former president of the Chilean Constitutional Convention, attends the ceremony to present the draft of the new constitution to Chilean President Gabriel Boric on July 4.
Elisa Loncon (front left), a Mapuche activist and former president of the Chilean Constitutional Convention, attends the ceremony to present the draft of the new constitution to Chilean President Gabriel Boric on July 4.

Chile Unveils Its Proposed New Constitution

But the country’s cycle of political change remains in flux ahead of a September referendum on the progressive charter.

People attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in São Paulo on Oct. 11, 2019.
People attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in São Paulo on Oct. 11, 2019.

A Far-Right Huddle in São Paulo

CPAC Brasil is evidence that Bolsonaro’s brand of conservatism is becoming more mainstream elsewhere in South America.

People hold up signs and protest.
People hold up signs and protest.

How Chile’s Constitutional Overhaul Emboldened the Right

Even if the new constitution is adopted, Chile’s anti-democratic right wing is here to stay.

An aerial view of the first thermosolar power plant in Latin America in Antofagasta, Chile, on Sept. 22, 2021.
An aerial view of the first thermosolar power plant in Latin America in Antofagasta, Chile, on Sept. 22, 2021.

Chile Bets Big on Green Hydrogen

The country aims to lure investors and become a global clean energy hub.

Iona-Rothfield-Chile-The-Long-Game-episode-square-site
Iona-Rothfield-Chile-The-Long-Game-episode-square-site

How a Chilean Women’s Soccer Player Scored for Gender Equality

The Chilean women’s soccer team is disrupting the status quo.

Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks with President of the Constituent Assembly Elisa Loncon on Dec. 21 in Santiago.
Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks with President of the Constituent Assembly Elisa Loncon on Dec. 21 in Santiago.

Gabriel Boric Bookends a Year of Demands for a New Social Contract

This year, voters from Chile to Honduras to Peru elected leftist leaders who promised to ease endemic inequality.

Presidential candidates Gabriel Boric of the Social Convergence party and José Antonio Kast of the Republican Party pose before a presidential debate in Santiago, Chile, on Dec. 13.
Presidential candidates Gabriel Boric of the Social Convergence party and José Antonio Kast of the Republican Party pose before a presidential debate in Santiago, Chile, on Dec. 13.

In Chile’s Presidential Race, Kast and Boric Are Not Equally Dangerous Extremes

Far-right candidate José Antonio Kast threatens to politicize the country’s constitutional rewrite.

Load 10 More Articles
Loading graphics

Welcome to a world of insight.

Make the most of FP.

Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. Explore the benefits included in your subscription.

Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. Sign up below. Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. Sign up below.

Choose a few newsletters that interest you. Get more insight in your inbox.

Here are some we think you might like. Update your newsletter preferences.

  • World Brief thumbnail
  • Africa Brief thumbnail
  • Latin America Brief thumbnail
  • China Brief thumbnail
  • South Asia Brief thumbnail
  • Situation Report thumbnail

Keep up with the world without stopping yours. Keep up with the world without stopping yours.

Download the FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere.

Download on the App Store
  • Read the magazine
  • Save articles (and read offline)
  • Customize your feed
  • Listen to FP podcasts
Download on the Apple App Store
Download on the Google Play Store

Analyze the world’s biggest events. Analyze the world’s biggest events.

Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with