The author analyzes the Chilean National Congress in the context of an extreme-presidential regime and
the “protected” democracy installed by the authoritarian regime. The article runs as follow: a description
of the composition, structures, and formal and real powers of the Congress; an analysis of the relations
between the Presidency and the parliament, with a special emphasis in the strengths of the presidency as
co-legislator and the weaknesses of Congress in regard with its accountability powers, an evaluation of
the inclusion in the parliament of the Armed Forces as an agent on the process of political decisions, and
their function of guarantors and tutors of the democracy. This work also tries to make a brief synthesis of
some phenomena that weigh on the life of the parliament, such as the party system, the disaffection of the
civil society, and the public image of the Congress.