The article focuses on the paradox that the Chilean political system has funcioned satisfactorily despite
the fact that it combines characteristics which in the scholarly literature are held to be leading to instability.
On this background, the author analizes the relations of power between Congress and President, with
special emphasis on those elements which have contributed to political stability. He then widens the focus
to discuss the specific contributions the nation’s Congress has made to the democratic consolidation of
Chile. He concludes that the Chilean parliament has been quite sucessful in regard to horizontal institutionalization whereas -according to a widespread perception of Chile’s citizens- it still shows many
deficiencies in regard to its vertical institutionalization.