Chile

One of them is the privatized education system, the subject of regular student protests, which former president (2006/2010) and currently running for another four years next November, Michelle Bachelet has pledged to reform.

However to achieve it, Bachelet must overcome another legacy of the Pinochet-era: an electoral system that makes it very difficult for any one party to gain a significant majority in Congress.

“There’s something sexist about saying that the candidates are two women. Has anyone ever remarked on it when the candidates are two men?” former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet complained about comparisons between herself and her main rival in the presidential elections, rightwing candidate Evelyn Matthei.

The Nov. 17 elections are the first electoral race in Latin America in which the two main presidential candidates are women.

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced on Friday she would step down from a key U.N. post amid high expectations that the popular politician would campaign again for the top job in her homeland at a November election.

Women activists in Chile say that Bachelet's criticism is unfair and is due to male chauvinism.
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Chile's President Michelle Bachelet gave her full support Monday to legislation creating a new General Law of Education, replacing the existing Pinochet-era law, known as the L.O.C.E.
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