Re-establishing civilian supremacy over police institutions: An analysis of recent attempted reforms of the security sector in Chile

In late 2001, the Chilean executive sent a package of constitutional reforms to the Congress. These reforms aimed at eliminating some of the 1980 constitution's provisions that, until now, have precluded the full democratization of society and politics. One of the proposed reforms affected Chile's uniformed police, known as Carabineros. The proposed change attempted to place the Carabineros police, once again, under the administrative tutelage of the Ministry of the Interior. The political decision to do this followed a 28-year span during which Carabineros have been under the dependence of the Ministry of Defense. Why the change? How did police officers react to the political debate surrounding the constitutional amendment needed to make this change possible? What are the practical aspects of this reform? Is this reform a clear signal of the re-establishment of civilian supremacy over at least one of the branches of the armed forces? If so, is civilian supremacy over the rest of the armed forces a distinct possibility now? This article examines the factors that account for the descent of Carabineros to the position of one of the most reviled institutions in the country. It also asks whether this institution can be transformed into a professional organization, dedicated to fighting the growing rate of common criminality and ensuring personal safety. And if so, how? Lastly, it examines whether the new dependency on the Ministry of the Interior is the solution to decades of institutional decay and whether the police forces will continue their culture of violence and repression during the still unfinished democratic consolidation. © 2004 by Association of Third World Studies, Inc.