Walking through historic Santiago, Chile, one is struck by the colonial past -- and by the fact that the main boulevard is called Avenida Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins. An Hispanic Chilean named "O'Higgins" is honored for having freed Chile from the Spaniards.
But, one also sees evidence of modern struggles. In just two short blocks, past modern commercial buildings, stalls selling fresh strawberries and cherries, many banks and lots of people out on their lunch break, I ran across a group of workers on "huelga" (strike) for workers rights against a company (CGI). Then, in the Plaza de Armas, women and some men were asking people to sign petitions in support of "AFP Estatal Para Chile." Their petition was to demand that the state explain to them exactly where their mandatory savings and pension funds were deposited.
In a country where a woman, Michelle Bachelet, ran as a Socialist, and was elected in 2006, issues of workers rights have not diminished in any way.
Now, on to the subject of this ten-day blog: women and politics in the US and Chile. In the recent election in the United States, we saw the well-qualified Senator Hillary Clinton be the front runner for over a year – only to lose in the primary election. In Chile, as around the world, reporters, political leaders (women and men alike), and people on the street acknowledge the historic achievement of Barack Obama's election. At the same time, Hillary Clinton was the first woman to run for the highest elected office in the US who showed real promise. She had a commanding lead for over a year, and was a formidable candidate who met all of the criteria commonly required: name recognition, financial and party backing, and a strong grassroots organization.
What are some of the reasons Clinton did not win whereas Presidenta Michelle Bachelet did? From what I have learned about politics in Chile, Presidenta Bachelet, like Clinton, did confront sexism during her campaign. One of the differences in the two countries is that Bachelet also ran as a socialist In the United States this year the term “socialist” was used as an insult against the ultimate nominee of the Democratic Party, President-Elect Barack Obama. Even the term “liberal” was diligently avoided by the Democratic candidates, and John McCain made use of the label to draw voters away from Clinton, Obama, and the Democrats.
Another important difference in our election systems and political culture is that, at least in Chile, it is possible to run a campaign with a pledge to institute gender parity in ministerial appointments. There are even campaigns to institute gender quotas in this and other South American countries.
In large part because of the racial history of politics in the United States, any candidate in the US making such a pledge for parity by gender (or race) would never making it to a primary election, let alone become a nominee or win an election – for any position. Some of those polled in the weeks before the election gave as their reason for not supporting Obama was that he might appoint “too many African Americans” to cabinet posts or focus too much effort on advancing the causes of African Americans.
The fact that, from what I understand, Presidenta Bachelet was able to follow through on her pledge – at least initially, and from my count, to appoint women to 50% of the cabinet posts is remarkable to a political analyst like myself from the United States.
Tomorrow's post will delve more into Bachelet's path to the presidency and comparisons with US women in politics.
But, one also sees evidence of modern struggles. In just two short blocks, past modern commercial buildings, stalls selling fresh strawberries and cherries, many banks and lots of people out on their lunch break, I ran across a group of workers on "huelga" (strike) for workers rights against a company (CGI). Then, in the Plaza de Armas, women and some men were asking people to sign petitions in support of "AFP Estatal Para Chile." Their petition was to demand that the state explain to them exactly where their mandatory savings and pension funds were deposited.
In a country where a woman, Michelle Bachelet, ran as a Socialist, and was elected in 2006, issues of workers rights have not diminished in any way.
Now, on to the subject of this ten-day blog: women and politics in the US and Chile. In the recent election in the United States, we saw the well-qualified Senator Hillary Clinton be the front runner for over a year – only to lose in the primary election. In Chile, as around the world, reporters, political leaders (women and men alike), and people on the street acknowledge the historic achievement of Barack Obama's election. At the same time, Hillary Clinton was the first woman to run for the highest elected office in the US who showed real promise. She had a commanding lead for over a year, and was a formidable candidate who met all of the criteria commonly required: name recognition, financial and party backing, and a strong grassroots organization.
What are some of the reasons Clinton did not win whereas Presidenta Michelle Bachelet did? From what I have learned about politics in Chile, Presidenta Bachelet, like Clinton, did confront sexism during her campaign. One of the differences in the two countries is that Bachelet also ran as a socialist In the United States this year the term “socialist” was used as an insult against the ultimate nominee of the Democratic Party, President-Elect Barack Obama. Even the term “liberal” was diligently avoided by the Democratic candidates, and John McCain made use of the label to draw voters away from Clinton, Obama, and the Democrats.
Another important difference in our election systems and political culture is that, at least in Chile, it is possible to run a campaign with a pledge to institute gender parity in ministerial appointments. There are even campaigns to institute gender quotas in this and other South American countries.
In large part because of the racial history of politics in the United States, any candidate in the US making such a pledge for parity by gender (or race) would never making it to a primary election, let alone become a nominee or win an election – for any position. Some of those polled in the weeks before the election gave as their reason for not supporting Obama was that he might appoint “too many African Americans” to cabinet posts or focus too much effort on advancing the causes of African Americans.
The fact that, from what I understand, Presidenta Bachelet was able to follow through on her pledge – at least initially, and from my count, to appoint women to 50% of the cabinet posts is remarkable to a political analyst like myself from the United States.
Tomorrow's post will delve more into Bachelet's path to the presidency and comparisons with US women in politics.
2 comments:
Very exciting Carol. I enjoyed your first blog and look forward to others. You're really part of the global village now.
Nicole Payne
Carol,Sounds like a great project with women in Chile. Thanks for sharing details and your analysis through this blog. It would be great to see some photos documenting your experience as well. Lisa Brown
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