Chile gets first woman president

[cal04]

Partial results in Chile's presidential election give a clear victory to the centre-left candidate Michelle Bachelet, with 53% of the vote. With two-thirds of the run-off vote counted, she is set to become the country's first woman president.

Her rival, conservative businessman Sebastian Pinera, has so far polled 46.8%, the interior ministry said. Correspondents say Ms Bachelet's win consolidates a swing to the political left in Latin America. The election is the fourth since Chile returned to democracy in 1990 after 17 years of military rule.

The BBC's Daniel Schweimler in Santiago says crowds are already gathering outside Ms Bachelet's campaign headquarters in the capital, Santiago, to celebrate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4613864.stm



Socialist Michelle Bachelet was elected Chile's first woman president on Sunday as her opponent conceded that the former political prisoner had won.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17835491-23109,00.html

[Fridays Child]

1. Latin America is becoming a Liberal force to be reckoned with.

I hope Vicente Fox is paying attention.

[Eric J in MN]

4. Was Vicente Fox re-elected, or is there an election coming up? nt

nt

[arcos]

6. There's no reelection in México...

Elections will be held in a few months, and the leading candidate is left winger Andrés Manuel López Obrador from PRD, but both PAN and PRI have been inching closer in the last few months.

[K-W]

9. And no doubt they will try every trick in the book to stop him.

The US does consider Mexico its backyard.

[arcos]

11. Yes, the US considers the whole of Latin America their backyard...

And they certainly can't afford to have a leftist as their neighbor and leader of one of the biggest countries of the region.

I wouldn't be surprised if they laundered millions of dollars to the PAN candidate.

[sophie996]

8. fox can't run again

mexican presidents get just one six-year term. mexico city mayor manuel lopez obrador, a leftist, is the favored candidate.

and to think there was a time i wished the U.S. would pay more attention to our own candidate--what a stupid idea. latin america's doing just fine without our interference.

[Fridays Child]

12. I think, this summer, there will be an election.

[Zynx]

42. There's one coming up and the left of center PRI looks set to win.

[arcos]

7. Latin America is electing left wingers, not liberals... nt

[sonicx]

10. It seems the US is the only place were 'liberal'...

is used to describe center-left people.

[K-W]

16. It has become just another false ideology in the United States,

just another rationalization for the status quo and the continued accumulation of wealth.

[arcos]

18. It is...

In Latin America however, a liberal is usually a bad word. :P

[Miss Chybil]

33. And it's not a bad word here?

Somebody tell Rush Limpballs!

[arcos]

55. It is, but among the right...

In Latin America, it is a bad word for the left, for workers and for the environment.

[julianer]

62. In most of the world 'liberal'

means pro free market and small government linked with personal liberty (i.e. liberty to exploit and be exploited).

It usually describes centrist parties who will side with the bosses economically but support civil liberties.

[K-W]

13. Actually, most of them are left-center in their countries.

Chavez is the most radical of the bunch and he isnt really that radical in the grand scheme of things.

And I seriously wonder how anyone elected and supported by majorities or pluralities in thier countries could be considered a winger.

The only spectrum where these people are left-wingers is the warped spectrum pushed on us in the US where anyone who doesnt agree that right-wing policies are best is considered a left-winger.

[arcos]

15. They are left wingers because they consider themselves left wingers...

Their policies are leftist, their parties are leftist (Movement Towards Socialism anyone?), and they are proud of it. Yes, they are not all as radical as Chávez is, but that doesn't make them any less left wing, especially when you compare Lula to his predecessor Cardoso, Kirchner to Ménem, Vásquez to Sanguinetti, etc.

[K-W]

19. Nevermind.

On second thought this is a pointless disagreement based on how we think of political spectrums.

[malaise]

27. No their policies aren't leftist

unless supporting people and providing healthcare and education for your citizens is leftist. Not unless preventing foreign coroprations from buying out our resources including water is leftist. The bottom line in the region is fuck neoliberalism. If that is seen as leftist so be it. Perhaps it's the US that has gone right and doesn't give one fugg about human beings but tell Bushco that he doesn't own the planet.

[arcos]

57. Yes, their policies are leftist....

"Left" is not a bad word, no need to say they are not when they are. Yes, they are leftist, they are proud to be leftist and they are proud that their leftist policies are helping their people.

[Zynx]

43. Indeed. Lula, Lagos(now Bachelet), and the president of Uruguay are all

moderate leftist who have supported free-markets.

[savemefromdumbya]

2. a little different from Pinochet

how is the Bush cabal finding it? I guess they've given up on S America?

[Fridays Child]

14. Too much oil there. Bushco will never give up.

[savemefromdumbya]

29. how could I have forgotten?

the oil!

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[arcos]

5. Thank goodness... I was really worried...

Recent polls showed Piñera closing the gap between the two.

Congratulations to Chile, Bachelet and democracy!

[USA_1]

17. Bush and Democracy

Bush said that his war on Iraq is all about democracy and nation building. Well, he's got that now in Chile.

[occuserpens]

20. Wiki info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Bachelet

[Grover_Cleveland]

21. I see a contradiction between the two articles.

One article says she is "center left" and the other says she is a "socialist."

I consider myself to be very liberal, but I do not consider myself to be a socialist.

I favor legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, and gay marriage, and I am pro-choice on abortion.

But I am also in favor of private ownership.

There is a big difference between being "center left" and being a "socialist."

[occuserpens]

26. That's pure liberal issues, nothing to do with left-right scale

I favor legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, and gay marriage, and I am pro-choice on abortion.

[Grover_Cleveland]

28. But I also said.....

..... that I am in favor of private ownership.

[loudsue]

36. Socialism supports private ownership.

It simply means that taxes go for social causes....people share their wealth in the way of taxes paid, to support those things that benefit everyone. Health care, education, social security, highways, water supplies, etc.

It has nothing to do with "communal ownership" of the capital wealth.

[julianer]

63. Actually this is a fraught issue

Many people who call themselves socialists are against private ownership (of the means of production, not your TV). It is more accurate to call people on the left who support private ownership 'social democrats' rather than socialists.

[Grover_Cleveland]

73. That's interesting.

Many people who call themselves socialists are against private ownership (of the means of production, not your TV).

Without private factories to build the TV, where is the TV going to come from?

[julianer]

75. The point I was trying to make was that

socialists who are in favour of public ownership of the means of production are not interested in communalising personal property - which is one of the longstanding distortions made by their enemies eg 'these socialists want to take away you car, clothes, TV, hifi....' etc, etc.

But you raise an interesting point. Do you think that nothing can be produced unless there is a capitalist behind it?

What actual role does a capitalist play in production? - they provide the money. Do they even know that they own the TV factory? - probably not. Are they loyal to the continued production of the factory? - no, not if it can be done cheaper elsewhere. Are they concerned about getting their TVs to the widest number of people? - no, only those who can afford to buy their produce.

So my question to you is this: why do you think it is impossible to produce things without capitalists?

[Bridget Burke]

77. The TV's will come from China, of course!

Where the hammer & sickle still fly.

[malaise]

65. 100% correct

Most of these leaders are social democrats or radical democrats. The US government and its agents try to paint them as communists but they all believe in mixed economies and not neoliberalism.

[Grover_Cleveland]

72. That's a mixed economy.

Which I support.

[occuserpens]

39. Only ultra-radical socialits reject private ownership

[High Plains]

49. You two have an idiosyncratic definition of socialism.

Here's what Wikipedia says (and I agree):

Socialism is an ideology with the core belief that society should exist in which popular collectives control the means of power, and therefore the means of production.

In Marxist theory, it also refers to the society that would succeed or supplant capitalism, and would later develop further into communism, as the necessity for the socialist structure would wither away. Marxism and communism are both branches of socialism.

The word dates back at least to the early nineteenth century. It was first used, self-referentially, in the English language in 1827 to refer to followers of Robert Owen. In France, again self-referentially, it was used in 1832 to refer to followers of the doctrines of Saint-Simon and thereafter by Pierre Leroux and J. Regnaud in l'Encyclopédie nouvelle. Use of the word spread widely and has been used differently in different times and places, both by various individuals and groups that consider themselves socialist and by their opponents. While there is wide variation between socialist groups, nearly all would agree that they are bound together by a common history rooted originally in nineteenth and twentieth-century struggles by industrial and agricultural workers, operating according to principles of solidarity and advocating an egalitarian society, with an economics that would, in their view, serve the broad populace rather than a favored few.

[killbotfactory]

51. Here it is more likely to refer to people like Bernie Sanders

And support a mixed economy, like most of Europe.

[occuserpens]

67. Well

Wiki has a disclaimer that this article is limited in the very beginning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism

Socialism is an ideology with the core belief that society should exist in which popular collectives control the means of power, and therefore the means of production.

To begin with, I don't think that socialsm is one ideology. Rather, there is a loose group of very different socialist ideologies.

[High Plains]

47. She's a socialist like Aznar of Spain is a socialist

Maybe we could call her a SINO.

Her party is an affiliate of the Socialist International (www.socialistinternational.org), the global organization of "Democratic Socialists."

[High Plains]

58. Oops, I meant Zapatero, not Aznar

[arcos]

56. Zapatero in Spain is a socialist too...

And he supports private ownership. Nowadays, most socialist parties are socialist in name only, and they are really socialdemocrats. That's what Michelle Bachelet in Chile and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Spain are.

[sasquatch]

22. ¡Caliente!

:thumbsup::loveya:

[Judi Lynn]

23. Beautiful news. This is one fine day for Chile and the world.

Thanks for the information.

[onehandle]

24. So many countries are decades ahead of us.

As long as the Recessionist White Male party dominates, there will never be a woman President.

[Grover_Cleveland]

74. Women make up more than 50% of the voting age population.

Because men die about 7 years earlier than women.

[oscar111]

25. She a move left or right of the current Chile gov? nt

[Zynx]

48. The current president, Lagos, is a Socialist as well.

She is a bit to the left of Lagos.

[struggle4progress]

30. ... Who is Michelle Bachelet? ...

Michelle Bachelet’s father was an air-force general who supported the elected president, Salvador Allende, who died in Pinochet’s military coup on 11 September 1973. He paid for his observance of the constitution by being tortured to death by his fellow officers. At that time, Michelle Bachelet was a third-year medical student and a member of the Socialist Party. Together with her mother, she was also arrested and tortured. After three weeks, they were released and allowed to travel abroad, ending up in Berlin where she continued her medical studies.

Bachelet returned to Chile in 1979 and graduated as a medical doctor, specialising in paediatrics. She was refused a job in the public-health system in 1982 because of “political considerations”, which led her to work with NGOs, helping the children of victims of military repression.

In the 1990s, after Chile had returned to democracy and Pinochet’s influence had declined, the army sought to re-establish its legitimacy by inviting the Socialist Party to send their experts on military affairs to join senior officers in taking the annual course at the National Academy of Strategic Studies. Bachelet took up the offer and surprised everyone by graduating at the top of her class, thus qualifying for a postgraduate scholarship at the Inter-American Defence College in Washington DC.

When Bachelet’s socialist colleague Ricardo Lagos won the presidency in January 2000, he appointed her health minister, in charge of the public-health system that had once blacklisted her. Her brief was to eliminate waiting-lists within three months and to restore confidence in a national health service that had been seriously undermined by privatisation. Her success guaranteed her promotion; but there was further surprise when President Lagos appointed her defence minister in 2002. Bachelet was the first woman in Latin America – and one of the very few in the world – to hold that portfolio ...

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/chile_bachelet_3097.jsp

[youngerbroder]

31. She's significantly to the left

She was a hippy.

And said she wants ``a country where no one is condemned to live in poverty, because no one deserves to be poor,.
3rd, her dad was killed by that bastard Pinochet. I would assume she wants to be radically different to anything right-wing.

[Zynx]

44. She seems a little to the left of Lagos which doesn't really mean that

much since she basically will continue to support his relatively conservative fiscal policies. I think that model actually works well with a government regulating the private sector and taxing it sufficiently to pay for social programs and a balanced budget. It has produced very stable economic growth since the Pinochet years ended.

[Judi Lynn]

64. Would you be kind enough to point the way to a biographical link

describing this incoming President's days as a hippie? I've never seen any open spaces in her life which would have allowed her the time for a hippie phase, as she went right to college, medical school, and became a doctor, and has been extremely busy her entire adult life.

It would really help us get the expanded perspective you have if you could provide a link or two about Michelle Bachelet's life as a hippie.

[youngerbroder]

32. Poverty has dropped dramatically

The percentage of Chileans with incomes below the poverty line--defined as twice the cost of satisfying a person's minimal nutritional needs--fell from 46% in 1987 to around 18% by 2004.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1981.htm

[Zynx]

45. Pinochet's policies were ruinous for about 80% of the population.

There was about 20% or so that benefitted under Pinochet and they are the ones who still support him. Most suffered as he removed the minimum wage, created huge national conglomerates, and brought about hyper-inflation. The relatively moderate socialist model imposed since then has done wonders.

[1932]

46. Didn't Chile experience a terrible depression in the mid-80s?

Part of the reason they got enough support to end the Pinochet dictatorship was because his (house of cards) economic policies ultimately led Chile into a depression that was almost as bad as the worst economic crisis Chile had ever experienced (during the Great Depression).

Throughout the '90s Chile was recovering from that disaster.

If there had been no Pinochet, and if Keynesians governed from '73 on, Chile wouldn't have had misery to recover from, and 18% would be considered an appalling number and not one to celebrate.

[Zynx]

50. Pinochet's economic policies were deceptive in that GDP usually grew

but unemployment would rise and real wages would decline.

[moondust]

71. Bingo.

Apparently a lot of people in South and Central America are tired of living in abject poverty while a handful of ruthless capitalists suck up all the wealth.

Will the U.S. ever wake up? How soon will the Repo wardaddies invade?


Welcome youngerbroder!

[bvar22]

34. Freedom on the March!!!!

:party:
:patriot:

[Gregorian]

35. Bravo! A little bit of hope.

[SharonAnn]

38. Here's my hubby with President-elect Bachelet in December 2005

What a cuty! And she's nice looking too, eh?

[Gregorian]

40. Wonderful!

What a picture. I know nothing about her. It appears that you are involved, and acquainted.

If only the compassion would spread.

[SharonAnn]

41. He's Chilean and we were in Chile in December visiting his family.

He happened to be lunching at a resaurant on the north side of Santiago and she was campaigning in the area.

I told him it was a good thing their campaigns aren't quite likeours. It would'be probably cost him about $10,000 to get a picture with a presidential candidate here in the U. S.

Anyway, I had returned to the U. S. two days before so I didn't get to meet her. What a shame!

Anyway, he likes capable women so after talking with her a few minutes, he became a big fan of hers. Unfortunately, he's a U. S. citizen so he couldn't vote for her.

[jumperto77]

37. She wants to lower age from 65 to 60

For people to receive free health care in hospitals. This from her plan of first 100 days of government.

[rodeodance]

52. "underscores the left's growing hold on Latin America."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060116/ts_nm/chile_election_dc;_ylt=Au74VR2pZ6k1B3JfHIkZUkOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY

Chileans elect socialist, first woman president

By Fiona Ortiz Sun Jan 15, 9:28 PM ET

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Socialist Michelle Bachelet, a separated mother and former political exile, won elections on Sunday to become the first female president in socially conservative Chile with a victory that underscores the left's growing hold on Latin America.

ith almost all votes counted, Bachelet, from Chile's ruling center-left coalition, had 53 percent versus 47 percent for opposition candidate Sebastian Pinera, the government Electoral Service said.
"Who would have thought 20, 10, five years ago, that Chile would elect a woman president? ... Thank you for inviting me to lead this voyage," Bachelet told thousands of jubilant supporters outside her electoral headquarters in downtown Santiago.

[rodeodance]

53. love to see this.

[rodeodance]

54. kickypoo

[Marie26]

59. Chile Elects First Female Leader (Bachelet wins!)

SANTIAGO, Chile (CNN) -- Chilean voters have elected their first female president, one-time political prisoner and socialist Michelle Bachelet.

Bachelet, who has also been a doctor and serves as defense minister for the outgoing government of President Ricardo Lagos, defeated billionaire businessman Sebastian Pinera in a runoff Sunday.

With more than 99 percent of precincts reporting, she had 53.5 percent of the vote to Pinera's 46.5 percent.

"I want our government to be remembered as the government by everyone and for everyone," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/01/15/chile.vote/index.html

[lvx35]

60. More of South America goes socialist.

They learned their lesson big time with the IMF fiasco in Argentina that led to the total collapse of that countries economy. Not a mistake anybody wants to repeat, and I don't blame em.

[arikara]

61. Yippeeee... Wonderful news!

The world is becoming a better place one country at a time.

I'd love to be a fly on Chimpy's wall.

:popcorn:

[rpannier]

66. Nice that she's a woman...better that she's a leftist

[Judi Lynn]

68. Oh, yeah. Here we go. See if you can follow the ((((((( SPIN )))))))

in this article!

Chile's first woman president to tackle inequality
Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:14 AM ET

By Pav Jordan
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Chilean president-elect Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist who will be the country's first female leader, vowed on Monday to shrink the gap between rich and poor that persists in the South American nation despite lower poverty and a thriving economy.
(snip)

An agnostic with three children from two relationships, Bachelet benefited from a shift to more secular values in Chile, which has had a reputation historically as one of the region's most socially conservative countries.
(snip)

Political scientist Ricardo Israel said a main challenge for Bachelet will be to bring more women into public office, and to find a place for her social-democratic coalition within the range of leftist governments taking hold in Latin America.

Israel said she would have to balance the need to maintain good global relations, particularly with the United States, so Chile can keep benefiting from global free trade, while guaranteeing a steady natural gas supply from its neighbors
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-16T161329Z_01_N14130550_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHILE-ELECTION.xml&pageNumber=1&summit=

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tell me, how often will the press normally examine a politician's religious views, and number of partners with whom he/she has had children in a conventional news story?

[Greyhound]

69. So who wants to move to South America? (and which country shall

we adopt?)

[phusion]

70. I'm moving to Guyana in May

we could start there... :)

edit: Guyana is small, and English-speaking!

[Greyhound]

76. Political climate? Cost of living? Hate Americans? n/t