For some, it evokes painful memories of the 1970s and 1980s, when Gen Augusto Pinochet regularly deployed troops to repress his opponents.
But for others, it’s a necessary evil in a country reeling from what outgoing President Michelle Bachelet has described as the biggest catastrophe in its history.
“Imagine, for a coalition that has governed this country for 20 years and that fought against the dictatorship, the idea of having the military on the streets was not easy,” government minister Sergio Bitar told the BBC.