The first round of elections for the Chilean presidency resulted in plans for a runoff vote on Jan. 16, 2000, between Ricardo Lagos Escobar, a member of the Socialist Party, and Joaquin Lavin, the right-wing candidate.
Lagos was elected president, becoming the first socialist president to run Chile since the overthrow of Salvador Allende in Sept. 1973. Lagos took office on March 11.
In a speech just days after his inauguration, Pres. Lagos promised to seek a constitutional amendment to shift more control of the previously independent military into the hands of the civilian government.
Pinochet was stripped of immunity by the Supreme Court of Chile. With 14 cases pending against him in Chile alone, he faced additional prosecution in Spain and Argentina.
