Women power takes over Chile

Chileans made history this Sunday, when they elected Michelle Bachelet as the country's first female president.

The voting took place in the middle of the summer season, so Chileans had to put their vacations on hold to take time to vote in a run-off presidential election, following the December 11th general elections did not produced an outright winner.

Bachelet a Socialist becomes the fourth president of the Centre-left ruling Concertación coalition. Since the return to democracy 1990 the Concertación coalition has won every presidential election.

She will lead the country into its bicentennial in 2010.

Bachelet defeated conservative billionaire Sebastián Piñera by a wide margin. Bachelet received 53 percent of the votes versus 46 percent for Piñera.

Bachelet is a medical doctor, single mother of three, and never held elected office. She became known when she served as Minister of Health and Defence in the widely successful outgoing administration of President Ricardo Lagos.

A Bachelet government will continue the free market policies; particularly enhance free trade agreements Chile has signed with the U.S., Europe and China. Also Her administration will pay closer attention to their neighbours; particularly develop friendlier relations with Bolivia.

Bachelet also intends to implement major pending social reforms: to the private pension funds; introduce early childhood education, labour reform to get women into the labour force.

To date only 36 percent of women work and earn between 30 to 40 percent less than males. Another area is flexible working hours that can benefit women enter the workforce. This last point is a major issue, because nearly 40 percent of households are headed by women.

Chile awoke to new challenges this Monday, but above all is the confidence that barriers are disappearing, now is time for a Bachelet administration to implement the many social reforms pending to have a strong safety net; the only way to reduce the serious inequalities the country faces.

The new president is an example of reconciliation, forgiveness and punishment of those who committed human rights atrocities.

The New President
1973, following the Augusto Pinochet military coup, her father Alberto Bachelet an Air Force General, was arrested, tortured and later died in captivity. General Bachelet worked in the Socialist government of President Salvador Allende, in the area of distribution of basic foodstuffs because of serious shortages.

His comrades in arms saw General Bachelet as a traitor. Following her father’s death, Bachelet and her mother were arrested and tortured at the infamous Santiago Villa Grimaldi torture centre. Following their release, both women flew first to Australia and later to the former East Germany.

In Germany, Bachelet continued her medicine studies. She returned to Chile in the early 1980s where she worked as pediatrician at a foundation treating the children of victims of torture and disappeared.

With the return to democracy, Bachelet worked as an advisor at the public health care system. She also studied at Chile’s War College, graduating with top honours and earning a scholarship to study at Washington’s war college.

When President Ricardo Lagos took office in March 2000, he named Bachelet as her Minister of Health and in 2002 she was appointed Minister of Defence. In both postings Bachelet was the first woman ever to head both ministries.

Her work as Minister of Defence is what catapulted Bachelet to centre stage in the minds of Chileans, who promptly began naming her as the most promising politician in the country.

Her appeal with the public forced the Socialist Party to name her as their presidential candidate ahead of party heavyweights. She then captured the ruling Concertación nomination defeating another woman, for the nomination.

Bachelet is the single mother of three children, two grown and a 12 year-old daughter.