OK. t's true. The world is going to hell everywhere. But a bit of hope is
coming from the South:
Ex-political prisoner elected Chile's first female president
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Michelle Bachelet's path to Chile's presidency has
taken her from a dictator's jail cell to exile in East Germany and back home
as a respected defense minister.
Her rise to power stunned many Chileans who thought a socialist single
mother jailed during Gen. Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship stood little
chance in this conservative Catholic country where divorce is a touchy
issue.
Bachelet, the first woman to be elected president in Chile, won 53 percent
of the vote in Sunday's runoff, compared with 46 percent for Sebastian
Pinera, a conservative wealthy businessman, according to official results.
Her victory extended the rule of the market-friendly, center-left coalition
that has governed since the end Pinochet's 1973-90 rule.
"Who would have said, 10, 15 years ago -- that a woman would be elected
president!" Bachelet told thousands of supporters.
The elections underlined Latin America's tilt toward the left, though
Bachelet has promised to maintain the free-market policies that have made
Chile's economy one of the strongest in the region.
The 54-year-old pediatrician had expected resistance from Chile's
conservative military establishment -- and not only because of her family
background. "I was a woman, a divorcee, a socialist, an agnostic ... all
possible sins together," she said recently.
Bachelet's father was an air force general who was arrested and tortured for
opposing the 1973 coup that brought Pinochet to power. Alberto Bachelet died
in prison of a heart attack, probably caused by the torture, Bachelet says.
A 22-year-old medical student at the time, Bachelet also was arrested, along
with her mother. They were blindfolded, beaten and denied food for five days
while their cellmates were raped -- an ordeal she doesn't want to talk about
except to say she and her mother were "physically mistreated." She insists
she harbors no rancor because she has "a political understanding of why
those things happened."
They were later forced into five years in exile, first in Australia, then
communist East Germany, where Bachelet married a fellow Chilean exile. They
later separated, and she had a third child from a new relationship.
Back in Chile, Bachelet worked underground with other leftist exiles,
quietly advancing in the Socialist Party. She became a well-known figure in
the center-left coalition that has ruled since 1990.
Current President Ricardo Lagos, who was constitutionally barred from
seeking re-election, made her his health minister, then in 2002 named her
defense minister. She won praise for helping heal divisions between
civilians and military left over from the dictatorship.
Bachelet -- who was at the top of her class in a Chilean course on military
studies -- became a popular figure among the admirals and generals. The air
force presented her with a leather flight jacket with her name stamped on
it, and as defense minister she would often respond to an officer's military
salute with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.
Lagos and Bachelet belong to the same Socialist Party as Salvador Allende,
whose leftist policies prompted Pinochet's bloody coup. But the party allied
with other major left-center parties in 1990 to oust the right wing, and
their coalition has held while leading Chile into a free-trade pact with the
United States, cutting inflation and fostering growth of about 6 percent a
year.
In spite of their different political backgrounds and ideologies, both
Bachelet and Pinera outlined similar goals. Both said they would fight to
lower the 8 percent unemployment rate, improve public health, housing and
education services and curb rising urban crime.
They also promised to reform Chile's 25-year-old private social security
systems to ensure better pensions for retirees, though neither has given
details of how.
Bachelet, the third woman in Latin America to be directly elected president,
will be inaugurated March 11, joining the ranks of Latin American leaders
including leftists such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and newly elected Evo
Morales of Bolivia.
She indicated she would work with all the region's leaders. "Chavez,
Morales, they are presidents elected by their peoples. Chile must have
relationships with all of them."
The country for the most part accepted Bachelet's candidacy, although her
gender prompted questions she didn't like.
"You wouldn't be asking that question if I was a man," she told a Chilean
newspaper reporter who asked if she would marry again.
But she did answer: "The truth is that I haven't had the time to even think
about that. My next four years will be dedicated to work."
Copyright 2006 The <http://edition.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html#AP>
Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Ex-political prisoner elected Chile's first female president
Monday, January 16, 2006 Posted: 1350 GMT (2150 HKT)
chile.woman.ap.jpg
<http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/americas/01/16/chile.vote.ap/chile.woman.
ap.jpg>
Michelle Bachelet, the Socialist presidential candidate, votes Sunday.
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SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Michelle Bachelet's path to Chile's presidency has
taken her from a dictator's jail cell to exile in East Germany and back home
as a respected defense minister.
Her rise to power stunned many Chileans who thought a socialist single
mother jailed during Gen. Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship stood little
chance in this conservative Catholic country where divorce is a touchy
issue.
Bachelet, the first woman to be elected president in Chile, won 53 percent
of the vote in Sunday's runoff, compared with 46 percent for Sebastian
Pinera, a conservative wealthy businessman, according to official results.
Her victory extended the rule of the market-friendly, center-left coalition
that has governed since the end Pinochet's 1973-90 rule.
"Who would have said, 10, 15 years ago -- that a woman would be elected
president!" Bachelet told thousands of supporters.
The elections underlined Latin America's tilt toward the left, though
Bachelet has promised to maintain the free-market policies that have made
Chile's economy one of the strongest in the region.
The 54-year-old pediatrician had expected resistance from Chile's
conservative military establishment -- and not only because of her family
background. "I was a woman, a divorcee, a socialist, an agnostic ... all
possible sins together," she said recently.
Bachelet's father was an air force general who was arrested and tortured for
opposing the 1973 coup that brought Pinochet to power. Alberto Bachelet died
in prison of a heart attack, probably caused by the torture, Bachelet says.
A 22-year-old medical student at the time, Bachelet also was arrested, along
with her mother. They were blindfolded, beaten and denied food for five days
while their cellmates were raped -- an ordeal she doesn't want to talk about
except to say she and her mother were "physically mistreated." She insists
she harbors no rancor because she has "a political understanding of why
those things happened."
They were later forced into five years in exile, first in Australia, then
communist East Germany, where Bachelet married a fellow Chilean exile. They
later separated, and she had a third child from a new relationship.
Back in Chile, Bachelet worked underground with other leftist exiles,
quietly advancing in the Socialist Party. She became a well-known figure in
the center-left coalition that has ruled since 1990.
Current President Ricardo Lagos, who was constitutionally barred from
seeking re-election, made her his health minister, then in 2002 named her
defense minister. She won praise for helping heal divisions between
civilians and military left over from the dictatorship.
Bachelet -- who was at the top of her class in a Chilean course on military
studies -- became a popular figure among the admirals and generals. The air
force presented her with a leather flight jacket with her name stamped on
it, and as defense minister she would often respond to an officer's military
salute with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.
Lagos and Bachelet belong to the same Socialist Party as Salvador Allende,
whose leftist policies prompted Pinochet's bloody coup. But the party allied
with other major left-center parties in 1990 to oust the right wing, and
their coalition has held while leading Chile into a free-trade pact with the
United States, cutting inflation and fostering growth of about 6 percent a
year.
In spite of their different political backgrounds and ideologies, both
Bachelet and Pinera outlined similar goals. Both said they would fight to
lower the 8 percent unemployment rate, improve public health, housing and
education services and curb rising urban crime.
They also promised to reform Chile's 25-year-old private social security
systems to ensure better pensions for retirees, though neither has given
details of how.
Bachelet, the third woman in Latin America to be directly elected president,
will be inaugurated March 11, joining the ranks of Latin American leaders
including leftists such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and newly elected Evo
Morales of Bolivia.
She indicated she would work with all the region's leaders. "Chavez,
Morales, they are presidents elected by their peoples. Chile must have
relationships with all of them."
The country for the most part accepted Bachelet's candidacy, although her
gender prompted questions she didn't like.
"You wouldn't be asking that question if I was a man," she told a Chilean
newspaper reporter who asked if she would marry again.
But she did answer: "The truth is that I haven't had the time to even think
about that. My next four years will be dedicated to work."
Copyright 2006 The <http://edition.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html#AP>
Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
David D. Preiss Ph.D.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
www.uc.cl/psicologia
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