Chile Inaugurates Its First Woman as President

Chile Inaugurates Its First Woman as President: March 12, 2006
By LARRY ROHTER / NY TImes

SANTIAGO, Chile, March 11 — Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist, pediatrician and former political prisoner and exile, was sworn in on Saturday as the first woman to be president of Chile, the culmination of its long and painful journey from repression and dictatorship to democracy.

Ms. Bachelet, 54, was elected to a four-year term in January, winning 53.5 percent of the vote in a runoff. Her accession to power here is also a milestone: though six other women have served as presidents of Latin American countries, Ms. Bachelet, a single mother of three, is the first on the continent to be elected who is not the widow of a political leader and has built a career on her own.

Ms. Bachelet is the daughter of an air force general who was jailed for treason and died in prison after Gen. Augusto Pinochet took power in an American-supported coup in 1973.

In a country where the Roman Catholic Church wields great power, Ms. Bachelet is also openly agnostic, and when she took her oath of office she promised rather than swore to uphold the Chilean Constitution.

She also has promised a government that focuses on social equality and respect for human rights. Her immediate priorities, she indicated as a candidate, are a more just distribution of income and reform of the country's pension system, which is increasingly unpopular here.

But even before her inauguration at the Chilean Congress building in Valparaiso, Ms. Bachelet has already fulfilled another of her campaign promises: sexual equity in appointments to government posts. She has named a cabinet of 10 men and 10 women, and designated the governors of the country's 12 regions on the same basis.

On Wednesday, at ceremonies for International Women's Day, Ms. Bachelet stated that she intended to extend the principle to all official nominations.

"I've given clear instructions, and here I take advantage to do a commercial," she said. "Chile is going to be the first country that will have, in public sector decision making positions, total parity" between men and women.

Only one of Ms. Bachelet's appointments has stirred real controversy, and that was for familiar ideological reasons. For her choice as the deputy defense minister for the air force, she named Raúl Vergara Meneses, a former military officer who was one of her father's cellmates when he died and who later, while in exile in Nicaragua in the 1980's, was a commander in the Sandinista air force in Nicaragua.

Right-wing parties that supported the Pinochet dictatorship and have expressed suspicions that Ms. Bachelet intended to steer the country leftward have protested loudly. But Ms. Bachelet has held firm, and Mr. Vergara Meneses has defended himself by noting that he may be the only member of the Chilean Air Force with real combat experience.

About 30 leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as from Africa and Oceania, were here for the inauguration, which was held 16 years to the day after General Pinochet relinquished power.

The United States was represented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrived late Friday after saying that Washington was looking forward to an "excellent relationship" with the Bachelet government.

During her stay in Chile, Ms. Rice is scheduled to meet with several Latin American leaders, including Bolivia's new populist president, Evo Morales, who took office in January.

Mr. Morales is an ally of the Bush administration's most vocal critic in the region, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who is also here but will not meet with United States officials.

Mr. Morales, a onetime head of Bolivia's coca growers' union, has complained of what he called "threats and intimidation" by the United States against his government after Washington announced it was cutting $500,000 in military aid to Bolivia.

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Leftist fiesta in Chile for Bachelet inauguration By Silene Ramirez: 03-11-2006

VALPARAISO, Chile (Reuters) - Michelle Bachelet, Chile's first woman president, was sworn in on Saturday before a who's who of Latin America's resurgent leftist leadership, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, Uruguay's Tabare Vazquez, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales were among more than two dozen heads of state at the inauguration in the coastal city of Valparaiso, home to Chile's Congress.

"In Latin America, you have a labourer becoming president, that's Lula; an Indian, Evo, has arrived; a socialist woman; and a soldier - that's me, a revolutionary soldier - building a new South American project that is vital for the salvation of our people," said Chavez as he arrived at Congress.

Bachelet, a medical doctor and former defense minister, is the fourth consecutive leader from the centre-left coalition that has ruled Chile since the country returned to democracy in 1990 after the 17-year Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

"This is a big party for Chilean democracy, this is what makes our country serious and trustworthy in the world," said popular outgoing President Ricardo Lagos as he was cheered by crowds outside the national palace.

Bachelet, only the second elected woman leader in South America, is expected to continue Lagos' successful mix of liberal social policies, fiscal discipline and free market economic policies that have brought Chile prosperity and made it one of the most stable nations in the region.

Chile, the biggest copper producer in the world, is living an economic boom thanks to high prices for metals. Consumers are spending freely and the government, enjoying a budget surplus, is building new highways and infrastructure.

Bachelet is at the pragmatic end of the different strains of leftism now in power in Latin America. Chile is one of the most U.S.-friendly nations in the region, though it has parted ways on some issues such as the war in Iraq.

The free-market styles of Brazil and Chile contrast with the price controls and populism of Kirchner, while no leader has joined Chavez's self-styled revolution and anti-U.S. discourse, although Morales is critical of U.S. drug policy in Bolivia.

Speaking to reporters traveling with her to Chile, Rice said her attendance at the inauguration reaffirmed America's strong relationship and friendship with the Chilean people.

"I think it is good to remember that it has now almost been 20 years that the United States has been a friend and supporter of democracy in Chile. We actually helped with the transition to democracy in Chile," she said.

The United States, alarmed by the socialist government of democratically elected Salvador Allende in the early 1970s, also supported the Pinochet regime.

Rice said Bachelet and her family were a symbol of what the Chilean people had gone through to reach where the country was today. Bachelet's father, an air force general, died after being tortured during the military regime.

Bachelet and her mother lived in exile after they were briefly imprisoned in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship.

"It's a story of tragedy and then of triumph," said Rice. "This journey for Chile was a difficult one," she added.

(Additional reporting by Sue Pleming)
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Chile Swears in First Female President =Saturday, March 11, 2006
By FEDERICO QUILODRAN, Associated Press Writer

VALPARAISO, Chile - Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist pediatrician who suffered prison, torture and exile under Chile's military dictatorship, was sworn in as the nation's first female president on Saturday.

Bachelet took her oath before Senate President Eduardo Frei at the crowded Hall of Honor of Chile's Congress in this port city near Santiago. Outgoing President Ricardo Lagos removed the white, red and blue presidential sash he was wearing and handed it to Frei, who placed it on Bachelet.

The 54-year-old president appeared relaxed and waved her right hand in response to salutes from people in the stands.

Some 30 foreign leaders and several prominent women, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, attended.

Bachelet's inauguration marks a deep cultural change in this male-dominated, conservative society, where divorce was legalized less than two years ago, abortion remains illegal, and women often earn up to 40 percent less than men doing the same work.

Already, she's challenged the traditional power structure by appointing what she calls a "parity government" — with equal numbers of men and women at more than 250 key jobs. She made the appointments without the traditional, lengthy negotiations with the political parties.

In addition, Bachelet has also vowed to promote legislation that would force political parties to include a certain percentage of female candidates.

Bachelet was elected to a four-year term in a Jan. 15 runoff vote to replace Lagos, a fellow Socialist. Bachelet served as Lagos' defense and health minister.

At an International Women's Day celebration, Lagos called Bachelet's election "proof that we have expanded the limits of what is possible in Chile nowadays."

A separated mother of three, Bachelet is the first elected Latin American leader who didn't rise to power with the help of a powerful husband. She says her victory reflects profound changes in Chilean society.

Bachelet is the daughter of an air force general who was tortured and died in prison for opposing the 1973 military coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet. She, too, was briefly imprisoned and tortured before being forced into exile.

She is expected to maintain Lagos' free market economic policies that have made Chile's economy one of the healthiest in Latin America. The country had a $5 billion surplus in 2005.
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Michelle Bachelet Inaugurated President of Chile: Saturday, 11 March 2006

At noon, Michelle Bachelet Jeria became the first woman President of the Republic of Chile, beginning her term in a solemn ceremony held in the Congress building, in the city of Valparaíso.

The President, who will remain in office until March 11, 2010, arrived at Congress just before noon, where she was greeted by hundreds of supporters who had come to share in the historic moment.

Senate Secretary Carlos Hoffmann opened the Inauguration ceremony—held in the Honor Salon of Congress—by reading the official record of the Election Qualification Tribunal that formalized the results of the presidential election. Afterwards, the President-elect entered the Honor Salon, greeted outgoing President Ricardo Lagos, and was sworn in.

President Bachelet then received the symbols of her position: the presidential sash, from Senate president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, and the badge of O’Higgins, from outgoing President Lagos.

Upon leaving Congress, Bachelet, along with her Interior Minister Andrés Zaldívar and her Army Aide de Camp Colonel Sergio Larraín, will take a convertible auto and review troops lined up along Argentina and Pedro Montt Avenues in Valparaíso, and will then head to the Cerro Castillo Presidential Palace.

Upon entering that residence, located in Viña del Mar, where she had held bilateral meetings throughout the morning with different dignitaries from throughout the Americas, President Bachelet will be ceremonially greeted by the Presidential Guard. She will then host a luncheon in honor of the foreign leaders present in Chile for her Inauguration. After that, she is scheduled to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo.

Later this afternoon, she will head to Casablanca, a small district located between Santiago and Valparaíso, where she will make a public appearance. She will then continue on to La Moneda, the Presidential Palace in Santiago.

Her agenda will conclude tonight at a gala to be held in the Estación Mapocho Cultural Center in Santiago.
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Government of Chile Website:
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