Chile

“In Chile, the skirt’s in charge,” blared the headline of Santiago tabloid La Cuarta the day after Michelle Bachelet and Evelyn Matthei advanced to a second round in the country’s presidential race. Voters today will pick between the two life-long politicians in the first presidential election in Latin America where all the candidates are female.But having such high-profile women in Chilean politics masks a country that is falling behind its peers on women’s issues.

When Chileans vote Sunday for their next leader, they will choose between a former president seeking to expand access to higher education broadly and a staunch conservative opposing tax increases aimed at reducing Chile’s high levels of inequality.
The fact that both candidates — Michelle Bachelet, a former president who narrowly missed a first-round victory in November, and Evelyn Matthei, her right-wing opponent — are women reveals an area where Latin America is surging: the empowerment of female leaders in politics.

The leader in the race for president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet took 47% of the vote in November 17th elections. She will face a run-off against opponent Evelyn Matthei of the ruling center-right Alliance on December 15 who received 25% of the vote.

We invite you to read the full article published November 24, 2013

Socialist Michelle Bachelet handily won a first round of Chile's presidential race Sunday, with voters putting her on track to replace the country's conservative leader following a runoff in December.

Bachelet, Chile's first woman president 2006-2010, is now eyeing a non-consecutive second term as leader of the South American nation with the highest per capita income.

Camila Vallejo, who helped spearhead Chile's student uprising in 2011,has been elected to Congress alongside three other former university leaders, underscoring a generational shift in the country's politics.

Chile holds a presidential election on Sunday and both frontrunners are women - the socialist Michelle Bachelet and her right-wing rival Evelyn Matthei.

In a region where politics is still very much a man's game, that, in itself, is remarkable enough, but when one considers the relationship between the two women, it becomes more extraordinary still.

Ms Bachelet and Ms Matthei went to the same primary school and played together as kids.

Chilean presidential candidate for the ruling party Evelyn Matthei was the target of her competitors’ criticism during a televised debate in which she brushed aside hopefuls’ aspirations arguing that it was obvious that the race was between her and Michelle Bachelet, who did not participate.

The debate caused a storm in Chilean politics, with Matthei crossing accusations with independent candidate Franco Parisi and Bachelet saying that “debates are for presenting serious proposals and not just any proposal.”