Political environmentPolitical freedomFor most of its life, Chile practiced democracy and adopted constitutional government, with the exception of the period 1973-1990, in during which Augusto Pinochet led a military coup and overthrew the government, exercising authoritarian rule. However, since the end of his mandate, Chile has had a stable democratic government in which it practices the rule of law. The president is elected for a four-year term and 38 members make up the Senate who serve an 8-year term, half of which are for elections every 4 years (Freedomhouse). Freedom of expression is guaranteed in Chile, there is little censorship of the media, and no government restrictions are imposed on the Internet. People are allowed to practice their religion freely, a big step forward from the colonial rulers' strict emigration policy in which only Roman Catholics were allowed. The government also rarely interferes with judicial decisions in courts. All of these policies and practices contributed positively to the Freedom Index assigned by Freedom House. Freedom House is an organization that ranks and rates countries based on their level of freedom. Chile received a score of 1 out of 7 for its civil liberties and political rights. This allows Chile to achieve an overall freedom rating of 1, the highest rating that can be given to a country, reflecting its healthy political environment. CorruptionChile is one of the few countries in Latin America that is relatively free of corruption. The government has implemented several sound policies and implemented several methods to ensure that Chile is free from corruption. In 2003, Congress passed several transparency and campaign finance laws that have...... middle of paper ...... foreign direct investment and benefited from a trade surplus of 6 .2 billion dollars (fas.org). It is expected to receive $102 billion in investments between 2013 and 2016. According to the executive vice president of the Foreign Investment Committee of the Chilean Ministry of Economy, global FDI flows have decreased by 18%. in recent years, while Chile, for its part, has seen its capital investments increase by 32.2% (as-coa.org). U.S.-Chile Relations Since Chile regained its democratic government in 1990, it has enjoyed good relations with the United States. President Obama himself stated that “the relationship between the United States and Chile is as strong as any relationship we have” (fas.org). In June 2003, the United States and Chile signed a trade agreement that eliminated tariffs on 87% of their bilateral trade. Consumer goods and industrial goods