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Chile's New Leader: Michelle Bachelet

There's a new leader in Chile, signaling a new era for women in politics, as she becomes of the the very few female heads of state in the world. Within weekds of her victory, women were sworn into office as leaders of two other nations, on two other continents across the globe. Germany swore in its first woman chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Liberia became the first African nation to swear in a female leader: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. It truly is a new era for women in politics.

The election of Chile's new female leader also points to the progressive, open-minded outlook of the Chileans that voted her into office, and a nation on the rise. In a country famous for machismo, constituents have risen above traditional stereotypes and old ways to consider the options, weigh the candidates, and elect the best person for the job. Ms. Bachelet was voted into office on her own merits, and is the first Latin American woman leader to have done this. There have been other Latin American women leaders, but they did not come into power by their own means...they were widows of former leaders.

An Unconventional Past

Michelle Bachelet says herself that she will never be typical, and that she does not feel the need to be typical. She want to school to become a doctor, is a single mother of three, one of which was unabashedly born out of wedlock, and politically is a socialist. When she was in her early 20s, Pinochet ws the dictator and his henchmen took her away from her family, kept her in captivity, assaulted her, and told her that they'd kill her mother. Her father, Alberto Bachelet Martinez, was an air force general who died in 1973 during an American-backed coup. She was a military brat, moving from home to home with her parents, once living in Bethesda, Maryland. She claims this experience taught her how to adapt to new situations. Her mother, Angelea Jeria Gomez, was an anthropologist, and was kidnapped along with Michelle in 1973 when an American-backed coup overturned the rule of Salvador Allende, who was an elected president. Her father, Alberto, was tortured for many months and died in prison. After Michelle and her mother were released, they were exiled to East Germany. Michelle says she had a very good life in Communist East Germany, where she studied medecine, and met her husband, from whom she separated in the mid 1980s. His name was Jorge Davalos, and he was an emigre architect. They had one son, Sebastian, who now works in the foreign ministry.

In 1979 she returned to Chile and continued her study of medecine in Santiago, the capitol. She got job in a clinic for children of families who had been brutalized by Pinochet's regime. When Pinochet's dictatorship ended in 1990, she left that job. People who know her and who describe Michelle Bachelet as grounded are referring to these experiences. Her integrity is rarely questioned, as a result of her honesty and her truthfulness as a politician and as a person due to these grounding experiences.

A Political Star on the Rise

Ricardo Lagos was the president of Chile in the year 2000. He named Michelle Bachelet Minister of Health. She was great at the job, and won recognition from all over Chile for her work in the hospitals. After two years as Chile's Minister of Health, she became Minister of Defense. Even though she's a liberal politician, she has a sensitivity and ease with the military because of growing up in a military family. She understands the sense of familia that pervades the military. Nobody in politics really considered her as a presidential candidate, until a survey of the Chilean people revealed that she was the peoples' top choice! She became a candidate for election to run Chile. After beating conservative Sebastian Pinera, history was made and she became Chile's first female leader. She is respected by George Bush, who sent Condoleeza Rice to her inauguration.

Time for Change

Michelle Bachelet is not afraid to do what she wants in spite of social criticism, because she is her own person. Her personal life, had she been a US politician, would have sunk her political career years ago. However, most countries around the world have a larger perspective on life than do the US American public, and they know that how someone runs their personal life is personal, and separate from how well he or she can run a country. We'll just leave it at that, and concentrate on her policital live. She is now a political star, and you can see her face everywhere in the Chilean media. Her slogan, estoy contigo means "I'm with you", seems to be literally true! Her election as Chile's leader has updated the country's image around the world, from staunchly Roman Catholic nation to a country of hope, change, and the future. Bachelet symbolizes a new freedom from dictatorship, a symbol that Chileans can and will change.

Chile is only slowly breaking away from conservative social values, and many are yet to be brought into the twenty-first century. For example, divorce has only been legal since 2004. Abortion is still not allowed. There is a very strong male-dominated culture at work here, and Chile is behind the times when it comes to sexual politics. There are even gender-separated polling places for voting!

Chile may seem like the United States in the 1950s, but it's really the women who keep society together, say many cultural commentators and writers. Michele Bachelet simply represents the reality of Chilean life, not the macho perception. She represents the daily existence of Chile's citizens, where women play a strong role in daily life. Almost a third of all households in Chile are headed by single mothers. More than half of all children are born out of wedlock. As a feminist, Michele Bachelet raised all three of her children on her own, and believes in a non-male style of leadership, where a women doesn't have to become "made of steel" and behave like a man in order to effectively get the job done. To her, this means considering both sides of a problem but remainining tough. She's never been accused of being soft like jelly in her political roles, yet she brings a compassion and maternal sense of the world to the job.

Chile suffers from many problems, inlcuding a 20% poverty rate, a faltering pension system, and discrimination. Bachelet's goals are to push steady progress, encourging distribution of wealth and a growth of the economy. Chile's culture is evolving, and when you don't even have legalized abortion yet, pushing for gay marriage is out of place. The people of Chile have elected a true visionary with a well-grounded sense of responsibility, and great things are sure to happen.

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