Question

How did Pinochet's military dictatorship come to an end?

Answer 1

(i) Pinochet's military rule came to an end, after he decided to held a referendum in 1988. He was confident enough that people would say 'yes' to his continuing in power. But the people of Chile were dead against his continuity.
(ii) They wanted to see democracy once again in their country. Hence, as soon as they got an opportunity, they did what they had to.
(iii) Their vote was a decisive 'no' to Pinochet. This led to Pinochet losing first his political and then his military powers.
(iv) Thus, political freedom was restored in Chile. Since then Chile held four presidential elections in which different political parties participated. Slowly, the army's role in the country's government got eliminated.