Bachelet represents a compromise in more ways than just in terms of globalization. The daughter of an Air Force Brigadier General who opposed the military government, was jailed, tortured and died in prison, her efforts at forgiveness and reconciliation attempt to suture the large chasm that has ruled Chilean politics since the Pinochet years [1973-1990]. A socialist, agnostic, and separated mother of three [divorce was illegal until last year in Chile], she challenges traditional notions of gender even as her platform pursues gendered policies. In fact, she has set about appointing ministers with gender parity. In sum, she is trying to balance economic and social issues within the new global order. As such, she is certainly a figure to watch in a country that has a history of providing creative ways to manage the global situation.

In March, immediately after Bachelet assumed the presidency, I conducted “person on the street” interviews to tap into the public opinion pulse about President Bachelet. I asked three questions. First, do you think the new president can balance, as she claimed during her campaign, the social needs of the country while honoring its commitment in a range of global agreements? Second, do you think her gender will make a difference in her presidency? Third, do you support the new president? A fourth optional question was, do you care to share your political preferences? Interviews were carried out with a broad range of participants in Santiago, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, and Reñaca. Gender, age, class, education, and occupation varied as well. People were chosen randomly including, for example, museum docents, shopkeepers, restaurant workers, and municipal bureaucrats.

Preliminary analysis followed by early transcription of the digitally taped interviews suggest that most of those interviewed, regardless of class or education, were very well informed about global agreements to which Chile was a signatory. Most spoke of a tension between agency and structure—that is, they favored attention to social services and believed President Bachelet did as well, but they were not sure if Chile had any wiggle room to pursue these policies. Women did not necessarily support Bachelet nor did men automatically oppose her (Ríos Tobar, 2006). For instance, a husband and wife had opposing views: the husband was very supportive of President Bachelet while the wife, a stay-at-home mother, was firmly against a woman as president. Also, political leanings [and most were quite happy to share theirs with me] were not a useful predictor of support. For example, a staunch and long-standing right wing, upper middle class female supporter—in fact a Pinochetist—was won over by Bachelet’s policy that “Third Age” [senior] citizens were to receive free medical care. Yet another highly educated architect was favorable of the new President but considered global structures to be too insurmountable. In sum, respondents largely concurred with Munck (2006) that “Latin American political leaders confront huge pressures to address urgent social demands, yet have few reasons to believe that solutions to these demands will be found.” (p. 13).

Resources:
Munck, Gerardo (2006). Latin America: Old Problems, New Agenda. Democracy at Large. 2:3, 10-13.
Pieterse, Jan Neverdeen. (2004). Globalization & Culture: Global Mélange. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
Ríos Tobar, Marcela (2006). !Más Político que Cultural! O ¿Como Llegó una Mujer a la Presidencia? Forum. 37:2, 31-33.