Chile expected to elect woman
SANTIAGO, Chile – Michelle Bachelet is female, agnostic and a single mother. That’s three strikes against her in the political world of Chile, a mostly Roman Catholic country with a strong macho culture.
Yet Bachelet is far from out. Instead, the 54-year-old socialist is favored to win Chile’s presidency today, extend her run as a political pioneer in South America and stretch the recent winning streak of leftist candidates in the region.
Promising to build on the economic progress that her center-left ruling coalition has delivered through fiscal conservatism and social spending, Bachelet has weathered intense scrutiny from the Chilean media and political opponents.
If she wins today’s runoff against a conservative businessman, Bachelet, a pediatrician, will become the first South American woman to win her nation’s presidency without owing her political career to her husband. The latest poll, ending last week, put her 5 points ahead.
“This is something historic for Chile,” said Daniel Ancancura, 33, a supermarket manager in Santiago. “It’s proof that Chile is advancing dramatically, and it shows Chile off well in the eyes of the world.
“Everyone thinks that Chile is really macho, that all Latin American countries are macho, but here we are seeing real democracy,” Ancancura said. “Her sex plays no role.”
Ancancura’s companion, 30-year-old Cecilia Bustos, kept trying to get a word in, but Ancancura forged ahead, talking about equality of the sexes. Finally, Bustos added her own praise for Bachelet’s experience in government, particularly as health minister. Bachelet later served as minister of defense, the first woman to hold that post in South America.
To be heard, Bustos had to shout not only over Ancancura but also over the din of Bachelet supporters. About 200,000 of them turned out Thursday night for the candidate’s final rally in downtown Santiago. They cheered Bachelet’s short, confident speech. And they roared in approval for President Ricardo Lagos, the outgoing socialist leader who has thrown his considerable popularity behind Bachelet’s campaign.
Her rival, Sebastian Pinera, attracted about 10,000 to the close of his campaign Thursday in the city of Valparaiso.
His supporters insist the trend favors the conservative, who finished a distant second to Bachelet in last month’s first round of voting. They say voters will respond to their candidate’s charisma, his promise to combat crime and his message that after 16 years of center-left rule, it is time for a change.
Though Pinera has closed the polling gap significantly since November, he has had an uphill fight. He and Bachelet generally share the same vision for the country, particularly on economic issues, so painting Bachelet as too radical is a stretch.