By Jessica • 18 years ago

Who is Our Bachelet?


A special thanks to Lisa Witter for reporting from the inauguration of Chile’s first woman President. Exciting!
Lisa Witter is a political commentator and General Manager of Fenton Communications.
This past warm Sunday morning in Santiago, Chile I met a woman named Laila at the Villa Grimaldi Peace Park. Villa Grimaldi was a complex of buildings used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners by the Chilean secret police, during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Laila, a victim of torture, was a guide for a delegation of women from the White House Project who went to Santiago to witness, celebrate and learn from the election and inauguration of Chile’s first woman President: Michelle Bachelet.
Laila is one of those women with kind eyes that speak truth to power. She recounted stories of her two kidnappings, once when she was 16 and the other when she was 18. She told us the gruesome story when she was 18 and two months pregnant of how her torturers beat her until she miscarried. She spoke of the horrific conditions, the 24/7 blind folds, and the execution tower. Laila also told us of the powerful love that fellow prisoners showed for one another. She specifically told us of one story of how a young female prisoner with medical training took it upon herself to organize and care for as many prisoners as she could – that woman was Michelle Bachelet.
On March 11, 2006 Bachelet, a Socialist, wasn’t just inaugurated Chile’s first female president; she became a powerful symbol for the world’s women. Bachelet is a pediatrician and surgeon with studies in military strategy, who served as Health Minister and Defense Minister under President Ricardo Lagos. She is a single mother of three (from two different fathers), and a self-described agnostic, which sets her apart in a predominantly conservative and Catholic country. She’s a survivor, a fighter, imperfect and as we heard from Laila a natural compassionate leader.


Our delegation of U.S. political leaders, Latin America scholars, corporate executives and philanthropists were on a fact finding mission. What lessons could we bring back to the politically gender parity challenged United States which still ranks 69 in the world for percentage of women in parliament behind Rwanda, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan?
Michelle Bachelet was elected not just because she was a woman. She was elected for her leadership, her forgiveness, her compassion, her commitment to working people and her imperfection. The fact that she’s a woman was an added bonus. It’s fitting that the election of this doctor represents the healing of a country that suffered a deep fracture since Chile’s September 11th – the 1973 violent military takeover of then Socialist President Allende’s democratically elected government (Bachelet’s father, a constitutional General under Allende died during his torture.)
This charismatically Clintonesque woman screamed authenticity and connection that stuck like glue to the electorate. Why can’t American politicians get this? Why can’t they get that what people want and need is someone who is real? Who is our Bachelet? Who is the Presidential candidate that can heal our much fractured country?
A moment of deep irony and sadness hit me when I was witnessing the official transition of power to Bachelet. Sitting in Palacio del Ex Congreso Nacional the camera spotlighted a variety of world leaders attending the ceremonies. Cheers broke out for Brazil’s President Lula, newly elected Bolivian President Morales and Venezuelan’s Chavez. When the camera focused on the official U.S. representative, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the crowd booed. As an American I was once again deeply embarrassed by President Bush and his policy (including torture) – especially after meeting with Laila, a victim of torture.
With the whispers of a potential female Presidential candidate showdown between Rice and Senator Clinton that moment seared an already strongly held belief: It’s not enough to just elect a woman. When we elect or first woman President, which I hope is soon, we need to elect a great woman. We need to elect our Michelle Bachelet.
The White House Project is conducting a poll called 8 for ’08. Go vote for which of the eight female candidates you think is our Bachelet.
These views do not represent Fenton Communications or the White House Project.

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