Long considered a Latin American economic powerhouse, Chile holds a vote at the weekend to elect a constituent assembly to rewrite its dictatorship-era constitution after a violent social crisis.

Here are six things to know about the country of nearly 19 million people:

- Dictatorship to democracy -

In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet toppled Socialist president Salvador Allende in a military coup. Allende committed suicide in the presidential palace as troops closed in.

Pinochet imposed a right-wing dictatorship that lasted for 17 years, during which at least 3,200 people were killed or disappeared as a result of political repression. Around 38,000 were tortured.

The general lost a 1988 plebiscite on remaining in power and handed the reins to the democratically elected Patricio Aylwin two years later, but remained head of the armed forces until 1998.

Pinochet died in 2006 without standing trial for atrocities under his regime.

In 2006, socialist Michelle Bachelet, who herself had been tortured, became Chile's first female president.

Re-elected in 2013, she was barred constitutionally from standing again and became the UN's Human Rights Commissioner. Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera was elected in 2017.

- From protest to reform -

After months of street protests over economic inequality, Chileans voted overwhelmingly in a 2020 referendum to rip up the Pinochet constitution many blamed for an iniquitous system of partially privatized health care, education and pensions.

On Saturday and Sunday, the country's 14 million voters will elect a 155-member convention to redraft the constitution.

- Neo-liberal laboratory -

Under Pinochet, Chile became a laboratory for neo-liberal free-market methods, pushing through sweeping privatization of healthcare, education and pensions.

In the 1980s, the country became a magnet for foreign investors, and today it is the world's biggest copper producer.

In 2020, Chile's GDP fell by 5.8 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic.

- Catholic church scandal -

The staunchly Roman Catholic country has been rocked by allegations of sexual abuse within the church going back decades.

The scandals were highlighted by a controversial visit to the country in 2018 by Pope Francis, who has been accused of not doing enough in response.

He then invited some abuse victims to Rome and summoned Chilean bishops, who resigned en masse. Some of the resignations have been accepted.

Numerous probes have been opened.

Ultra-conservative Chile legalized abortion in certain cases in 2017.

- Super seismic -

Bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountain range to the east, long and narrow Chile is one of the world's most seismic countries.

In 1960, it was hit by the most powerful earthquake ever registered, at Valdivia, measuring 9.5. More than 5,700 people were killed.

In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake unleashed a tsunami that swept away entire villages in the south and center of the country, leaving around 520 people dead.

Chile also has numerous active volcanoes.

- Astronomy and poetry -

For star-gazers, Chile is a spectacular destination. Benefiting from a totally clear sky for most of the year, northern Chile is home to some of the world's most powerful telescopes.

The construction of the planet's biggest telescope was launched in 2017 in the Atacama desert by ESO, the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere.

Chile's Gabriela Mistral was the first woman poet awarded the Nobel Literature Prize in 1945. The poet Pablo Neruda was the laureate in 1971.

Other Chilean writers known internationally include Isabel Allende and Luis Sepulveda, who died of Covid-19.

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