[Previous entry: "Environment in crisis: 'We are past the point of no return'"] [Next entry: "Sahitya Akademi Award: Arundhati Roy Rejects Honor"]

01/17/2006:

"Bachelet's Victory"

The resounding victory of Michelle Bachelet as Chile's first woman president represents an important social advance in a country where women are often treated as second class citizens. But few observers see the Chilean elections as reflective of the leftward trend taking place in much of Latin America. Cristian Cottet, the editor and owner of a book publishing house that specializes in political titles, says: "Bachelet is nominally a Socialist, but it would have made little difference if her conservative opponent had triumphed. The truth is Chile's political class is beholden to business interests and the neo-liberal economic model imposed on the country by the former dictator, Augusto Pinochet."
counterpunch.org