Chile Again Extends State of Emergency

The military government of Chile has extended its state of emergency for another 90 days, beginning today.

The emergency legislation has been renewed every three months since the military seized power in a coup in 1973. It empowers the government to restrict freedom of the press and assembly, curb political and trade union activities and ban people from entering or leaving the country.

Six of the nation’s 13 administrative regions remain under the more restrictive state of siege regulations, decreed by the government after the Sept. 7 attempted assassination of President Augusto Pinochet. More than 8 million of Chile’s 12 million people live under the state of siege.

In a decree issued simultaneously with the extension of the state of emergency, the government prohibited the press from reporting about “terrorist acts and about totalitarian organizations, movements or groups.”