The article presents the analysis of the decentralization process in Chile, focused on the past two decades (1990-2010). We have applied the Sequential Theory of Decentralization to develop the analytical work. We contrast this model with the Chilean case to observe its practical usefulness in future research. Conclusions indicate that along the entire process of decentralization, national interests have prevailed over the sub-national ones. Regarding the sequence of decentralization, administrative and financial aspects have outweighed the political dimension. The method of analysis was the testing of theories on case studies, through the description inferential qualitative studies.