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| 1999, Dec. 12 |
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| The first round of elections for the Chilean presidency resulted in plans for a runoff vote on Jan. 16, 2000, between Ricardo Lagos Escobar, a member of the Socialist Party, and Joaquin Lavin, the right-wing candidate. | 1 |
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| 2000, Jan. 16 |
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| Lagos was elected president, becoming the first socialist president to run Chile since the overthrow of Salvador Allende in Sept. 1973. Lagos took office on March 11. | 2 |
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| March 2 |
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| Augusto Pinochet was returned to Chile, temporarily avoiding prosecution by Spain on charges of torture. | 3 |
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| March 15 |
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| In a speech just days after his inauguration, Pres. Lagos promised to seek a constitutional amendment to shift more control of the previously independent military into the hands of the civilian government. | 4 |
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| Aug. 8 |
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| Pinochet was stripped of immunity by the Supreme Court of Chile. With 14 cases pending against him in Chile alone, he faced additional prosecution in Spain and Argentina. | 5 |
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