In a campaign dominated by personalities rather than sharp policy differences, Michelle Bachelet remains favourite to win Chile’s presidency next month and become the first professional female politician to lead a major Latin-American country. But in a land of machismo, male opponents are joining forces to thwart her ambitions — and gender could yet determine the contest.
Bachelet’s clear lead in Sunday’s first round was not enough to secure outright victory. She faces a January 15 run-off against Sebastián Piñera, a billionaire businessman. Another conservative, JoaquÃÂn LavÃÂn, who came third in the poll, is backing Piñera. Their combined support slightly exceeds that of Bachelet, candidate of the ruling centre-left Concertación coalition, although she may pick up votes from the defeated far left.
With Chile enjoying robust economic growth, the rival camps have pledged to pursue the liberal, free-market policies espoused by Ricardo Lagos, the retiring president. As a result, the campaign has focused narrowly on social spending, crime, unemployment — and the woman who would be king.
Bachelet is undoubtedly a breaker of moulds and, her supporters claim, a symbol of national reconciliation. She is a divorced mother of three in a largely Roman Catholic country. She was detained and tortured after the 1973 military coup led by Augusto Pinochet, yet rose to become defence minister when democracy was restored. Her style is calm, consensual and non-ideological in a country still haunted by division, dictatorship and tales of the disappeared.
But whether Chilean men are ready for a female president remains a tantalising question. While Bachelet, who has never won elective office, is popular with women, Sunday’s polling revealed a relative weakness among male voters. That prompted her campaign chiefs to worry out loud whether Chile was prepared for its Angela Merkel moment.
”Bachelet’s victory is not pre-ordained. Her support has somewhat receded, partly because of an effective campaign by the hard left,” said Roberto EspÃÂndola in a commentary on OpenDemocracy.net. ”But the main damage has come from the exorbitant campaign launched by Piñera, owner of a huge fortune controlling the main national airline and one of the main television channels, which has had an impact among male voters and the Catholic centre.
‘Piñera’s media campaign has kept a barrage of fire on Bachelet, targeting her alleged indecisiveness and deficiencies of intellect. Piñera has reinforced the charges with patronising comments about Bachelet’s charming, simpatico personality, implying this does not amount to a sufficient qualification for a president.”
Bachelet has met such stereotyping head-on, turning it against her detractors.
”I’ve been through labour three times. So I’m in really good shape for the month ahead,” she told Piñera during a live TV exchange.
”Today, men and women are valued the same,” she declared on election day. But she could not resist a retaliatory dig: ”We women are accustomed to working twice as hard as men. I will be president.”
Some say her hopes rest with working-class women who abstained on Sunday or backed LavÃÂn. And if she wins, other New World moulds may shatter. In Argentina and Peru, female politicians are well-placed to follow her example. In the United States, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton may be rooting for Bachelet. — Guardian Unlimited Â