This is a list of major

political scandal In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unet ...

s 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 eas ...

1800s

* "Scorpion" scandal (1809) – a smuggling scandal that caused the fall of the Royal Governor and hastened Chilean Independence

1810s

*Killing of Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza

1820s

Chilean Civil War of 1829 Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture The culture of Chile reflects the population and the geographic isolation of the country in relatio ...

1830s

* Quillota mutiny Killing of Diego Portales

1840s

1850s

* Sinking of the ship '' Cazador'', on 30 January 1856, off Punta Carranza near

Constitución, Chile Constitución () is a city and commune of Talca Province, Maule Region, Chile. It was historically a popular seaside resort. However, following the growth of the industrial sector (paper and pulp) tourism has since declined. Constitución is a mi ...

. 307 adults died, Children and stowaway were not registered. * ''Cuestión del Sacristán'': The archbishop of Santiago refused to obey a court decision *

1851 Chilean Revolution The Revolution of 1851 (or Civil War of 1851) was an attempt by Chilean liberals to overthrow the conservative government of president Manuel Montt and repeal the Chilean Constitution of 1833. After various battles and sieges, by late December 18 ...

1860s

1870s

* Capture of the Chilean transporter Rímac (1872) on July 23, 1879, during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. This caused a crisis in the Chilean government which in turn caused the resignation of Admiral Juan Williams Rebolledo commander of the Chilean fleet.

1880s

* Lieutenant Colonel Ambrosio Letelier is filed of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

and court martialed in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

after his expedition to defeat the last forces of Pierola during the Chilean occupation of Peru.

1890s

1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The wa ...

1900s

* Meat riots in Santiago, Chile in October 1905 were the earliest and one of the biggest riots to take place in Chile * Santa María de Iquique School Massacre ("Matanza de la Escuela Santa María de Iquique") (1907) – the slaughter of hundreds of striking saltpeter workers in

Iquique Iquique () 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 the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

at the hands of the police and military forces

1910s

1920s

* San Gregorio massacre on 3 February 1921 *

La Coruña massacre LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, on 5 Juni 1925 * Ladislao's war (1920) – a phony threat of war in order to reduce voters to opposition candidate. * '' Ruido de sables'' (1924) – the display of discomfort by young military men during a session of the Senate *

Marusia massacre The Marusia massacre ( es, Masacre de Marusia) (March, 1925) was the response of the Chilean government under president Arturo Alessandri to a Strike action, strike by the workers of a Sodium nitrate, saltpeter mine leading to over 500 dead, over n ...

(1925) – 500 miners shot dead by the police forces

1930s

Norte Grande insurrection The Norte Grande insurrection (December 25, 1931) ( es, Motín del Norte Grande) was a violent and ultimately unsuccessful coup d'etat attempt against the government of Chilean President Juan Esteban Montero. Background In 1931, Chile was in the m ...

(December 25, 1931) was a violent and ultimately unsuccessful attempt against the government of Chilean President

Juan Esteban Montero Juan Esteban Montero Rodríguez (February 12, 1879 – February 25, 1948) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as president of Chile between 1931 and 1932. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Benjamín Montero and of Eug ...

* Socialist Republic of Chile a twelve days socialist experiment in 1932 *

Ranquil massacre The Ranquil massacre ( es, matanza de Ránquil) was a massacre of forestry workers by the Chilean Army in the upper Bio-Bio River in 1934. The upper Bio-Bio region had recently been opened for Chilean and foreign settlers due to the occupation ...

massacre of forestry workers by the Chilean Army in the upper Bio-Bio River in 1934. * Seguro Obrero massacre (1938) – 58 people murdered by police in the wake of an attempted Nazi putsch *

Ariostazo The Ariostazo ( es, El Ariostazo) occurred on August 25, 1939, and was a brief revolt of the Tacna artillery regiment, led by General Ariosto Herrera, in what turned out to be a non-violent attempt against the government of Chilean President Pedro ...

a revolt of the Tacna artillery regiment in August 1939 * 1931 Chilean naval mutiny

1940s

Law of Permanent Defense of the Democracy In 1948, on the initiative of Chilean President Gabriel González Videla, the Chilean National Congress enacted the Permanent Defense of Democracy Law ( es, Ley de Defensa Permanente de la Democracia, Ley N° 8.987), referred to by many as the Dam ...

Chile's president

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; November 22, 1898 – August 22, 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 193 ...

banned communist and like-minded parties that supported him during the

1946 Chilean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Chile on September 4, 1946.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p262 The result was a victory for Gabriel González Videla of the Radical Party, who received 40% o ...

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

went into exile.

1950s

* Watches affair (1953) – a corruption scandal that ended the political career of María De la Cruz, the first Chilean woman senator * Línea Recta affair In February 1955 president Carlos Ibáñez del Campo met a group of army officers in order to prepare dictatorial powers to the president.

1960s

* United States intervention in Chile 1963-1973 * Massacre of Puerto Montt (a.k.a. Massacre of Pampa Irigoin) on 9 March 1965 eleven squatters were shot dead in Puerto Montt * Tacnazo 1969, a military mutiny

1970s

René Schneider General René Schneider Chereau (; December 31, 1913 – October 25, 1970) was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army at the time of the 1970 Chilean presidential election, when he was assassinated during a botched kidnapping attempt. He ...

(1970) – General Schneider assassinated during a botched kidnapping attempt in order to block Allende's constitutional election *

Edmundo Pérez Zujovic Edmundo Pérez Zujovic (May 11, 1912 - June 8, 1971) was a Chilean businessman and politician, militant of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC). He served as Minister of State during the government of president Eduardo Frei Montalva, in the admini ...

(1971) – minister during the massacre of Puerto Montt in 1965 was killed on June 8 * Cuban packages (1972) – a smuggling scandal involving President Salvador Allende *

Alejandrina Cox incident The Alejandrina Cox incident ( es, Incidente Alejandrina Cox) was a significant political scandal that occurred in Chile on 27 June 1973, involving General Carlos Prats, who served as the Minister of the Interior and commander-in-chief of the Ch ...

(1973) – a traffic incident that caused the resignation of the Army Commander-in-chief and hastened the Chilean coup of 1973 * Arturo Araya Peeters (1973) – Araya, a Captain of the Chilean Navy is assassinated in Jule by

Patria y Libertad The Fatherland and Liberty Nationalist Front ( es, Frente Nacionalista Patria y Libertad or simply , PyL) was a fascistAcademic literature describing FNPL as a fascist movement: * "Pablo Rodriguez, a lawyer and gremialista, formed the Movimiento N ...

1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état Enciclopedia Virtual > Historia > Historia de Chile > Del gobierno militar a la democracia" on LaTercera.cl. Retrieved 22 September 2006. In October 1972, Chile suffered the first of many strikes. Among the par ...

:For a more extensive list of scandals and crimes committed during the Pinochet era, see :: Rettig Report :: Valech Report :: Human Rights Violations of the Chilean dictatorship *

Charles Horman Charles Edmund Lazar Horman (May 15, 1942 – September 19, 1973) was an American journalist and documentary filmmaker. He was executed in Chile in the days following the 1973 Chilean coup d'état led by General Augusto Pinochet, which overthr ...

, Frank Teruggi (1973) – US journalists tortured and killed by the military during the

* Michael Woodward (1973) – UK priest, tortured aboard the Chilean naval vessel Esmeralda (BE-43) *

Caravan of Death The Caravan of Death ( es, Caravana de la Muerte) was a Chilean Army death squad that, following the Chilean coup of 1973, flew by helicopters from south to north of Chile between September 30 and October 22, 1973. During this foray, members of t ...

(1973) – 70 people executed by the military after the

Lonquén Lonquén (Mapudungun for "on the low lands") is a town in Chile, located between the communities of Talagante and Isla de Maipo, within the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. History In pre-Columbian times, Lonquén was occupied by the cultures B ...

On 15 October 1973, 15 men were arrested in the community of Isla de Maipo. Their remains were found on 30 November 1979 in abandoned lime kilns in Lonquén. * Operation Colombo (1975) – murder of 119 political opponents of Pinochet by the Chilean DINA * Leighton case (1973) – Chilean General Manuel Contreras, head of

DINA Dina ( ar, دينا, he, דִּינָה, also spelled Dinah, Dena, Deena) is a female given name. Women * Dina bint Abdul-Hamid (1929–2019), Queen consort of Jordan, first wife of King Hussein * Princess Dina Mired of Jordan (born 1965), Princ ...

, has been indicted in Italy in 1995 for ordering the Leighton murder. * Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito La Familia crashed and involved Jaime Guzmán, Luis Cordero, Cristián García-Huidobro and Claudio Arteaga, all founders of the

Independent Democrat 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 ...

Operation Condor Operation Condor ( es, link=no, Operación Cóndor, also known as ''Plan Cóndor''; pt, Operação Condor) was a United States–backed campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and assassination of op ...

(1976-) – a campaign of political repression involving assassination and intelligence operations by the right-wing dictatorships of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil *

Villa Grimaldi Villa Grimaldi is considered the most important of DINA’s (Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, the Chilean secret police during the Pinochet regime) many complexes that were used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners during ...

was a complex of buildings used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners by DINA, the Chilean secret police, during the government of Augusto Pinochet. * Carlos Prats (1973) – Assassination of Chilean General in the frame of Operation Condor. * Letelier case (1976) – Chilean politician and former minister murdered in Washington D.C. * Chilean Amnesty Law of 1978 (1978) – ''"entrenches impunity of those responsible for torture, disappearances and other serious human rights violations"''

1980s

* Without any explanation

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

's dictator

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

canceled

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

's visit in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

few hours before landing. *

1980 Chilean constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Chile on 11 September 1980. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p262 The proposed new constitution would replace the 1925 constitution, and was approved by over tw ...

was held on September 11, 1980, to approve the 1980 Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile as a replacement for Chile's 1925 constitution. This plebiscite has been, and continues to be, questioned regarding irregularities in its management. * Chilean economical crisis 1982-3 By 1983, the Chilean economy was devastated: of the 19 banks that the government had privatised, all but five failed, GNP fell 14% during 1982-3. *

Boris Weisfeiler Boris Weisfeiler (born 19 April 1941 – disappeared 4-5 January 1985) was a Soviet-born mathematician and professor at Penn State University who lived in the United States before disappearing in Chile in 1985. Declassified US documents sugges ...

(1985) – an American Jewish professor of Russian origin disappeared near Colonia Dignidad. *

Caso Degollados The ''Caso Degollados'' (English: "Slit-Throat Case") was a politically motivated series of murders of opposition members that took place in Chile in 1985, during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. The murders caused a huge political scanda ...

(1985) – a brutal murder of three professionals that caused the resignation of the Police Head and profound changes in the political and legal structure of the government * Burnt Alive case ("Caso Quemados") (1986) – a photographer and a college student are kidnapped and then burnt alive after a political protest, by a military patrol * Corpus Christi killings (''Matanza de Corpus Christi'') (1987) – the assassination of 12 members of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front in Santiago by the

Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional The Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional ( en, National Intelligence Directorate) or DINA was the secret police of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The DINA has been referred to as "Pinochet's Gestapo". Established in Novembe ...

later called ''Central Nacional de Informaciones'' *

Televisión Nacional de Chile Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) is a Chilean public service broadcaster. It was founded by order of President Eduardo Frei Montalva and it was launched nationwide on 18 September 1969. Since then, the company has been reorganized on sever ...

(3 December 1987) showed a secret service video of a young woman, tortured, imprisoned, and forced to make a public statement of guilt of her involvement in the kidnapping of an army office

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19188:chilean-court-reopens-torture-case-of-karin-eitel&catid=43:human-rights&Itemid=39] * Carmengate (1988) – presidential primary election fraud at the Chilean Christian Democrat Party headquarters. *

1989 Chilean grape scare File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker run ...

involving two grapes in Chile that were found to be tainted with Cyanide. None were found upon testing * La Cutufa a clandestine finance syndicate offered investors, mostly officers of the army, tax-free interest rates of 20% a month. After a dissatisfied investor was murdered, 4 generals and 16 officers were cashiered and 20
sanctioned

1990s

* Jonathan Moyle, a UK journalist, was found dead in Santiago de Chile in March 1990 * Pinocheques A corruption scandal involving the eldest son of

. *Killing of Senator Jaime Guzmán in 1991 * Operation Silence (1991) DINE (successor to DINA) assists several military and DINA officers wanted for human rights abuse to escape from Chile (including

Eugenio Berrios Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar d ...

, Arturo Sanhueza Ross, Carlos Herrera Jiménez) *Sold of weapons to Croatia and assassination of

Gerardo Huber Gerardo Huber Olivares (Forced disappearance, disappeared 29 January 1992; body found 20 February 1992) was a Chilean Army Colonel and agent of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, DINA, Chile, Chile's intelligence agency. He was in charge of ...

(1992), a former DINA officer. The deal involved 370 tons of weapons, sold to Croatia by Chile on 7 December 1991, when the former country was under a United Nations' embargo because of the support for Croatia war in Yugoslavia. * Piñeragate (1992) – political espionage and eavesdropping *

Eugenio Berríos Eugenio Berríos Sagredo (November 14, 1947 – November 15, 1992) was a Chilean biochemist who worked for the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA). Berríos was charged with carrying out '' Proyecto Andrea'' in which Pinochet ordered ...

(1995) – assassination of a DINA biochemist *Illegal sales of weapons to Ecuador during the

Cenepa war The Cenepa War (26 January – 28 February 1995), also known as the Alto Cenepa War, was a brief and localized military conflict between Ecuador and Peru, fought over control of an area in Peruvian territory (i.e. in the eastern side of the Cord ...

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 ...

(1998) * Libro negro de la justicia chilena is prohibited by the Chilean Supreme Court

2000s

* Inverlink case (2003) – 79 billion pesos swindle against

CORFO The Production Development Corporation (CORFO, from es, Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile) is a Chilean governmental organization that was founded in 1939 by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda to promote economic growth in Chile. ...

, a government organization in charge of promoting economic development * MOP-Gate case (2003) – triangulation of public money to finance payolas to government employees * (2004) – pedophilia case allegedly involving congressmen and businessmen * Tragedy of Antuco (2005) – the death of at least 45 soldiers in a military exercise in the mountains that went tragically wrong. * 2006–2007 Chilean corruption scandals * Colonia Dignidad – a sect with a history of criminal activity directed by child molester Paul Schäfer * Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado – questionable management that led to the near bankruptcy of the State Railway Company

2010s

* 2010 Santiago prison fire killed 81 inmates in Chile's deadliest prison incident * Karadima case (2010-ongoing) – pedophilia case involving Catholic priest Fernando Karadima and an alleged protection network which includes Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz and businessman Eliodoro Matte. * Kodama case (2010–11) – The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning was ready to pay 17,000,000,000 Chilean Pesos (approximately 24,000,000

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

in 2011) to a building contractor "Kodama" for works that were valued in maximal 3,000,000,000 Chilean Pesos. * 7.926 students displaced with the closing of Universidad del Mar * Pedro Velásquéz, second vice president of the

Chamber of Deputies of Chile The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados, links=no) is the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution. Eligibil ...

, was suspended by the Ethics Committee after the discovery of a debt of CLP 280-million (roughly US$593,427) that Velásquez owes the commune of

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

via tax fraud. * Larraín case: Martín Larraín Hurtado, son of Carlos Larraín (senator and president of the right-wing party National Renewal), was acquitted after killing a man in a

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be a ...

. The scandal inspired the film ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and the political thriller telenovela '' Juegos de poder''. * Penta case: irregular financing of political candidates by means of 258 fake records, among them IVA (value-added tax) receipts and payments for fictitious services, adding up to a total of some US$1.2 million. The probe evolved from the FUT-gate * CAVAL case: a real estate company, owned to 50% by Michelle Bachelet's daughter-in-law, made US$5,000,000 profit in a transaction based on

classified information Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...

and

influence peddling Influence peddling is the practice of using one's influence in government or connections with authorities to obtain favours or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. It is also called traffic of influence or trading i ...

.CIPER i
El historial financiero de CAVAL
retrieved on 13.March.2015 * SQM case SQM Lithium mining company facilitated the payment of campaign contributions by persons submitting false invoices to the tax authorities for work not done. Same legal issues as the Penta Case. * Corpesca is an ongoing investigation into payments made by the industrial fishery Corpesca to certain politicians to influence the distribution of quotas to each fishing company.