Michelle Bachelet has won the presidential elections in Chile once again. Last Sunday, hundreds if Chileneans gathered at the Presidential La Moneda Palace to celebrate the impressive victory of the center-left candidate. Although the win was expected, the country stands in anticipation to see if Bachelet will follow through with her promises of tackling inequality and transforming Chile with her proposed reforms.
A trained physician, Bachelet is the daughter of Alberto Bachelet, who died undergoing torture during the Augusto Pinochet regime (1973-1990). Bachelet herself was tortured during the dictatorship. Currently a divorced mother of three, Bachelet is extremely loved by her country due to her personalized manner and general warmth. But Bachelet is no novice. Elected the first female president of Chile from 2006-2010, she was prevented from immediately re-running by a constitutional law and had to wait. However, it was evident before announcing her candidacy, that she was the country's favorite.
Her victory as the face of the Nueva Mayoria party marked the highest share of votes (62 percent) for any presidential candidate since the country returned to holding democratic elections after the fall of the dictatorship.
The opposing conservative party, on the other hand, received record-low votes. Leading the conservative Alianza party, Evelyn Matthei barely scraped a weak 38 percent of the votes. Unfortunately for her campaign, Matthei, a former labour minister, had a negative image as her father had been a general for the military junta during the dictatorship and had supported Pinochet during a plebiscite in 1988.
Among Bachelet's ambitious reforms, she intends to tackle the pressing issue of inequality. Chile, the world's biggest copper exporter, is a growing economy with job availability (only 5.7 percent unemployment) and rising salaries.
However, despite its general growth, the wealth is poorly distribute causing extreme inequality. In fact, Chile is ranked the most unequal country in the 34-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
One of the root causes of this phenomenon is the elitist educational system. The two biggest public universities in Chile are extremely competitive. Those who do not get in are often forced to ask for loans and accumulate debt in order to afford the private universities. Many parents complain that they have to choose a child that has the most potential and focus chiefly on their education.
The current President, Sebastian Pinera, lost considerable popularity due to the protests regarding education reforms that began in 2011. Pinera was unable to implement satisfying changes on education, but Bachelet has placed education at the top of her reform agenda. In order to pay for these social reforms, Bachelet plans on increasing corporate taxes from 20 percent to 25 percent.
The expectations for Bachelet's term are high, and many are confident that she will fulfill her promises. Once she begins her term on the 11th of March in 2014, Bachelet plans to implement 50 reforms within her first 100 days office.
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Video Wednesday: Bachelet returns to Chilenean Presidency
December 18, 2013
Michelle Bachelet has won the presidential elections in Chile once again. Last Sunday, hundreds if Chileneans gathered at the Presidential La Moneda Palace to celebrate the impressive victory of the center-left candidate. Although the win was expected, the country stands in anticipation to see if Bachelet will follow through with her promises of tackling inequality and transforming Chile with her proposed reforms.
A trained physician, Bachelet is the daughter of Alberto Bachelet, who died undergoing torture during the Augusto Pinochet regime (1973-1990). Bachelet herself was tortured during the dictatorship. Currently a divorced mother of three, Bachelet is extremely loved by her country due to her personalized manner and general warmth. But Bachelet is no novice. Elected the first female president of Chile from 2006-2010, she was prevented from immediately re-running by a constitutional law and had to wait. However, it was evident before announcing her candidacy, that she was the country's favorite.
Her victory as the face of the Nueva Mayoria party marked the highest share of votes (62 percent) for any presidential candidate since the country returned to holding democratic elections after the fall of the dictatorship.
The opposing conservative party, on the other hand, received record-low votes. Leading the conservative Alianza party, Evelyn Matthei barely scraped a weak 38 percent of the votes. Unfortunately for her campaign, Matthei, a former labour minister, had a negative image as her father had been a general for the military junta during the dictatorship and had supported Pinochet during a plebiscite in 1988.
Among Bachelet's ambitious reforms, she intends to tackle the pressing issue of inequality. Chile, the world's biggest copper exporter, is a growing economy with job availability (only 5.7 percent unemployment) and rising salaries.
However, despite its general growth, the wealth is poorly distribute causing extreme inequality. In fact, Chile is ranked the most unequal country in the 34-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
One of the root causes of this phenomenon is the elitist educational system. The two biggest public universities in Chile are extremely competitive. Those who do not get in are often forced to ask for loans and accumulate debt in order to afford the private universities. Many parents complain that they have to choose a child that has the most potential and focus chiefly on their education.
The current President, Sebastian Pinera, lost considerable popularity due to the protests regarding education reforms that began in 2011. Pinera was unable to implement satisfying changes on education, but Bachelet has placed education at the top of her reform agenda. In order to pay for these social reforms, Bachelet plans on increasing corporate taxes from 20 percent to 25 percent.
The expectations for Bachelet's term are high, and many are confident that she will fulfill her promises. Once she begins her term on the 11th of March in 2014, Bachelet plans to implement 50 reforms within her first 100 days office.
