Change and stability in the Chilean electorate (1990--2000)

This dissertation analyzes the change and stability of Chilean electorate during the period 1990--2000. Chile is experiencing major changes in its electoral behavior. Such changes coexist with important continuity elements. Beneath an image of stability, radical electorate realignment is sprouting up. This research analyzes the changes, the stability elements and the effects of this process on the party system. Between 1990 and 2000, we can observe a high level of aggregate electoral stability; however, during the same period an increase in politics disaffection has developed, together with disidentification with the parties and distrust of democratic institutions. The thesis' specific objective is to study the extent to which significant changes have taken place in the distribution of the electorate among the parties, to analyze the foundations of the Chilean political parties' electoral support, to follow up the essential evolution lines of the electorate, and, finally, the effects of these movements and tendencies on the party system.;This research confirms that the traditional social cleavages, recognized in the literature, have a very limited capacity to explain the preferences for the coalitions and the political parties in Chile. It establishes that the political issues and the identification in the Left-Right scale are important determinants of the voting intention for the parties and coalitions. One of the main ideas that emerge from this research is that these changes take place because of political reasons, because of the actions and omissions of the political institutions, the parties, and the political actors.