Why did the Chileans cry when Michelle Bachelet's second term ended?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

A woman at the head of state has at all times been considered an exception to the rule, rather than a pattern. But, as recent history shows, over the past 50 years, everything has changed radically. Some countries of the world began to elect the fair sex not only to positions of responsibility, but also as heads of state, and several times. This is exactly what the heroic woman is, who survived not only under the blows of fate, but also under torture in prison. We are talking about the ex-President of Chile and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - Michelle Bachelet

I would also like to note that, from the 60s to the present day, more than 120 women have already been elected presidents and prime ministers in different countries. They have proven in practice that they can be not only good politicians, but also military strategists.

A striking example of the fact that a woman can achieve great success in absolutely any field of activity, including political, are our contemporaries, among whom, first of all, I would like to name the Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, who has been at the helm of the state since 2005; Dalia Grybauskaite - President of Lithuania, elected twice in a row as the head of the Baltic state. It is impossible not to remember the 4th President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, as well as Zuzana Czaputova (Slovakia) and Katerina Sakellaropoulou (Greece).

UN Commissioner for Human Rights

More than two years ago, in September 2018, at the United Nations General Assembly, it was decided to appoint ex-President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, to the post of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, congratulating whom the Secretary General expressed his conviction that no better candidate for this position could be found.

Michelle Bachelet (Veronica Michelle Bachelet Jeria) - Chilean statesman and politician, President of Chile (first term - 2006-2010, second - 2014-2018), the first female head of state in Chile's history, repeatedly included in the list of the most influential women in the world by versions of Forbes and Time magazines and ranked 36th in the list of 100 world thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine.

What did the ex-President of Chile deserve such a high honor and worldwide recognition, further - in our publication.

Childhood. Conclusion. Exile

Michelle Bachelet was born on September 29, 1951 in the Chilean capital of Santiago, the son of General of the Air Force of the country Alberto Bachelet and archaeologist-anthropologist Angela Geria. Her parents named her after the French actress Michelle Morgan.

Michelle spent her childhood at military bases where her father served. In 1962, Alberto Bachelet was appointed military attaché of the Chilean embassy in the United States. Michelle attended an American high school for two years, where she became fluent in English. Returning to her homeland, the girl successfully graduated from the women's lyceum in Santiago and entered the medical faculty of the University of Chile. It was there that she entered the youth organization of the Socialist Party of Chile and decided to devote her life to the struggle for equality and justice. However, the circumstances prevailing at that time in the country, not only did not give her the opportunity to graduate from the university, but also forced her to leave her homeland.

After the military coup in September 1973, dramatic changes took place in Chile. A junta led by Augusto Pinochet came to power, overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allenda. Michel's father was arrested almost immediately for aiding the socialists, under whose rule he led the food distribution committee. And after the coup, he sided with the legally elected president, as a result of which he was arrested, tortured and imprisoned on charges of treason. Unable to endure the cruel torture and poor maintenance, Alberto Bachelet died six months later.

A little later, the secret police arrested Michelle and her mother. Without trial or investigation, they were sent to Villa Grimaldi prison. They stayed there for about a year, having experienced not only the hardships of prison life, but also bullying and inhuman torture. Thanks to the intervention of the Australian government, where her older brother Alberto lived, and her father's colleagues, Michelle Bachelet was released in 1975. And she immediately had to leave the country. Thus, the girl first ended up in Australia, and later in Germany, where she graduated from a medical degree at the University of Berlin.

And when she returned to her homeland in 1979, she again continued her studies at the university and received a diploma in surgeon. As a Fellow of the Chilean Association of Medicine, Michelle has also had the opportunity to delve deeper into pediatrics and health issues. The first years after graduation, she worked in a children's hospital, and then in informal organizations that helped families affected by the Pinochet dictatorship.

First steps in the political arena

After the restoration of the democratic regime in Chile (1990), Bachelet joined the Socialist Party, becoming its active leader, and five years later - a member of its Central Committee. She is a certified pediatrician, surgeon and epidemiologist who worked as a consultant to the World Health Organization in the 1990s. Michelle was also an adviser to the Deputy Minister, and later she herself took the post of Minister of Health. For a long time she was engaged in the preparation of global reforms in the health care system in order to make medical care publicly available.

In 2002, Bachelet became the first woman in Latin America to be entrusted with this responsibility, as Secretary of Defense. Previously, she had to undergo training at a military college in the United States and at a military academy in Chile in order to professionally solve military-strategic tasks.

Chilean President

So, confidently moving up the career ladder, in 2006 Michelle Bachelet became the country's first woman president. At the head of the New Majority bloc, which unites socialists, communists and Christian Democrats, she pledged to immediately begin to implement reforms that would narrow the strong gap between rich and poor. By the way, Chile even then had the highest per capita income in Latin America: half of 17 million Chileans received about $ 500 a month.

It is worth noting that during the first presidential term, Michelle Bachelet enjoyed great prestige, and by the end she came with a record level of citizens' support - about 84%. She could have become the undisputed favorite in the presidential elections, but the country's constitution forbids holding the presidency for two consecutive terms, and she had to surrender her powers.

Leaving the presidential cabinet in 2010, Bachelet continued her political activities in the UN structure, where the ex-President of Chile headed the Agency for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. But at the end of 2013, Michelle had to leave this post in order to compete again for the presidency - and again to win. In 2014, Bachelet was elected President of her country for the second time, beating her rival Evelyn Mattei with a large majority of votes.

Curiously, these elections were not just fought by two women of the same age, former childhood friends who once lived in neighboring houses on a military base and played dolls together, but.

Within the framework of the article, we will not talk about the politics, reforms and achievements of Michelle Bachelet as head of state. A video showing how Chileans said goodbye to their president after her second presidential term will tell most eloquently about this. You just need to see …

Impressive, isn't it? To this I would like to add that Chile is one of the most corruption-free countries in the world, as well as one of the world leaders in terms of public administration efficiency. It was the lack of corruption in the system of government that allowed Chile to successfully implement many social protection programs.

Michelle Bachelet's personal life

And in conclusion, I would like to note that Michelle Bachelet took place not only as a high-ranking politician, but also as a woman. Before her, there were also other women presidents on the continent. But they, as a rule, were helped by famous husbands. Michelle, a divorced mother of three, has achieved everything on her own. Note - and this is in a Catholic country where divorce was prohibited by law fifteen years ago.

The first time she married Jorge Davalos and became a mother of two children while still in Germany. And in 2004, despite the ban, Michelle broke off relations with her husband and married Hannibal Henriquez. From their union, a daughter was born - Sophia. Now the ex-president is divorced, and she has three adult children: Sebastian, Francisca and Sofia.

Of course, Michelle Bachelet is destined to go down in the history of not only her country, but the whole world. The perseverance and determination of this woman truly deserves the greatest respect and admiration. And, to tell the truth, not every current male president has had a chance to experience in his life what this amazing woman went through.

But ancient history also remembers many cases when women took power into their own hands and ruled over their peoples. 10 strong-willed women rulers who left a significant mark in world history.