Events in the year 2021 in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

( RN)

Events

Ongoing —

COVID-19 pandemic in Chile The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () severely affected Chile. The virus was confirmed to have reached Chile on 3 March 2020. Initial cases had been imported from Sou ...

January to March

*4 January - The University Transition Test that replaced the PSU is carried out, with fewer questions and with a strict health protocol due to the pandemic. *7 January – Former GOPE sergeant Carlos Alarcón is found guilty of the murder of

Camilo Catrillanca Camilo Marcelo Catrillanca Marín (13 September 1994 – 14 November 2018) was a Mapuche farmer from Temucuicui in Chile who was shot to death by the Chilean police force under suspicious circumstances. The incident led to protests against poli ...

. A few days later he is sentenced to 16 years in prison. *30 January – A fire at San Borja Arriarán hospital in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

required 20 companies of

firefighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

to control, but the patients were all safely evacuated to nearby hospitals. *5 February – Hundreds protest and municipal buildings are set on fire in

Panguipulli Panguipulli ( ; Mapudungun for "hill of the puma") is a city and commune in Valdivia Province, southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Panguipulli. It is located on the western edge of Panguipulli Lake, and is on a moraine in the Chi ...

after police kill a street performer. *10 February – The government announces it will deport 2,000 undocumented immigrants, mostly from Venezuela. The town of

Colchane Colchane is a Chilean village and commune in Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region. The commune is located in the Andean altiplano, bordering Bolivia. It also includes the localities of Isluga, Enquelga, Cariquima and Chijo. Demographics Accordin ...

Tamarugal Province Tamarugal Province ( es, Provincia de Tamarugal) is one of two provinces in the northern Chilean region of Tarapacá. The capital is the city of Pozo Almonte. Name The province is named after Pampa del Tamarugal. Spanish name: * Provincia de Tam ...

, has expanded from a population of 300 to 1,700 since 1 February. *11 February – Mónica Zalaquett, Minister of Women and Gender Equity, condemns comments by councilor Iván Roca (

Independent Democratic Union The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with A ...

) of Lota, Biobío Region, excusing his 33-year-old son′s rape of a 12-year-old girl because the girl had ″the body of a woman″. *15 February – COVID-19: 779,541 total cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, 19,624 deaths, 2,147,272 doses of vaccine administered *4 March –

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

alert following earthquakes near the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total are ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Scheduled events

*10-11 April – Scheduled date for the

2021 Chilean Constitutional Convention election An election for the members of the Constitutional Convention was held in Chile between 15 and 16 May 2021. This election was called after 78% of voters in the 2020 national plebiscite voted to write a new Constitution through this method. Aft ...

. President Piñera proposed holding the election in May to allow greater vaccination. *21 November – Scheduled date for the

2021 Chilean general election General elections were held in Chile on 21 November 2021, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. Voters went to the polls to elect the President of the Republic to serve a four-year term, 27 of 50 members of the Senate t ...

, to elect the President and National Congress. In the 2021 elections 27 members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(out of a total of maximum 50) will be elected, replacing 20 outgoing senators.

Deaths

*3 January – Manola Robles, journalist (b. 1948). * 20 January - Mario Gutiérrez, musician, member of

Los Ángeles Negros Los Ángeles Negros ( en, The Black Angels) are a Chilean pop ballad band formed in San Carlos de Chile in 1968. The band's best-known line-up consisted of singer Germaín de la Fuente, guitarist Mario Gutiérrez, keyboardist Jorge González, ...

(b.

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

) * 22 January -

Juan Guzmán Tapia Juan Salvador Guzmán Tapia (; 22 April 1939 – 22 January 2021) was a Chilean judge. He was the first Chilean judge to lead investigations and prosecute Augusto Pinochet for violations of human rights during his dictatorship between 1973 an ...

, judge (

Augusto Pinochet's arrest and trial General Augusto Pinochet was indicted for human rights violations committed in his native Chile by Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón on 10 October 1998. He was arrested in London six days later and held on house arrest for a year and a half be ...

), (b.

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

). *27 January – Ignacio Tejeda, 17, tennis player; cancer. *31 January -

Oliver Welden Oliver Welden (1946 in Santiago, Chile – 31 January 2021) was an award-winning poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the cr ...

, award-winning poet (born 1946) *7 February – Mario Osbén, 69, footballer (

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has played ...

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a Chilean football professional club based in Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. That competes in the Primera B. The club's home ground is the Estadio Zorros del ...

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

); heart attack. *10 March –

Tomás Vidiella Tomás Humberto Eduardo Vidiella Baigorrotegui (26 October 1937 – 10 March 2021) was a Chilean actor, theatre director, and cultural manager. He is notable for his long and broad artistic career. He was the founder of the theater companies ' ...

, 83, film director and actor; COVID-19. *13 March –

Uruguay Graffigna Uruguay Gustavo Graffigna Banhoffer, also known as Uri Banhoffer or Yuri Banhoffer (14 January 1948 – 12 March 2021) was a Uruguayan footballer who played for clubs in Uruguay, Chile, the Netherlands and the United States. He died from COVID-1 ...

, 73, Uruguayan-Chilean footballer ( San Luis de Quillota,

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

); complications from COVID-19 and Alzheimer's disease. *19 March – Cristián Cuturrufo, 48, jazz trumpeter; COVID-19. *27 March –

Eugenio Mimica Barassi Eugenio Mimica Barassi (4 November 1949 – 27 March 2021) was a Chilean writer, born in Santiago. He made his literary debut in 1977, with the short story collection ''Comarca fueguina''. In 1979 he published his next book, the short story colle ...

, 71, writer (born 1949). *8 April – Elsa Bolívar, 91, painter. *22 April – Armando Jofré, 44, artist and puppet maker (

31 Minutos ''31 minutos'' (English: ''31 minutes'') is a Chilean comedy television series and a children's music virtual band created by the production company Aplaplac (owned by Álvaro Díaz, Pedro Peirano and Juan Manuel Egaña) that began to be trans ...

); COVID-19. *6 May –

Humberto Maturana Humberto Maturana Romesín (September 14, 1928 – May 6, 2021) was a Chilean biologist and philosopher. Many consider him a member of a group of second-order cybernetics theoreticians such as Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask, Herbert Brün a ...

, 92, philosopher and biologist (born 1928). *25 July –

Fernando Karadima The case of Fernando Karadima concerned the sexual abuse of minors in Chile, which became public in 2010. It raised questions about the responsibility and complicity of several Chilean bishops, including some of the country's highest-ranking Cath ...

, 90, catholic priest accused of sexual abuse (born 1930). *25 September –

Patricio Manns Iván Patricio Eugenio Manns de Folliot (3 August 1937 – 25 September 2021) was a Chilean singer, composer, author, poet, novelist, essayist, play writer and journalist. He is known for his 1965 song " Arriba en la Cordillera". Life and car ...

, 84, singer (born 1973) *3 October –

Jorge Medina Jorge Medina Barra (; 24 April 1968 – 23 November 2022) was a Bolivian civil rights activist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz, representing its special indigenous circumscription from 2010 to 2015. ...

, 94, cardinal (born 1926). *5 October – Reinaldo Solari, 96, businessman (born 1925).

References