An 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook the country to its core this Saturday. With powerful aftershocks continuing throughout the weekend, and widespread destruction throughout the entire country, officials could only begin to evaluate the full extent of the damage a few days later. Michelle Bachelet, the first female president of Chile, is ending her four year term as president in just a few weeks. Nonetheless, it may be in her last few weeks in office, following a disaster deemed “unparalleled in the history of Chile,” that she will face the greatest challenge as President of a severely shaken nation in need of leadership now more than ever.
While officials are still evaluating the full extent of the damage, Chilean officials are already describing a bleak picture of a serious humanitarian crisis. It is estimated that 500,000 Chilean residential buildings were severely damaged in the quake, leaving nearly one in eight residents without a home. Over two million have been displaced due to the damage, and the death toll is currently at 700 and quickly rising. In several cities, hundreds of people are still trapped under collapsed, 14-story buildings as rescuers tirelessly work their way through the rubble with saws and hammers. Officials are reporting that entire coastal villages washed away by a tsunami. In just one of these towns, Constitución, the death toll is already reported to be at least 350 people.
As massive looting erupts in various cities, and voices of discontent with the slow aid response echo across the radio waves, the Chilean government must rush to prevent any kind of “conflictive…social explosion” that is currently a major threat. The president finds herself in a difficult situation of having to uphold security and social order while at the same time ensuring that Chileans are provided with their basic needs of food, water and shelter. In Santiago and other regions, officials have announced a curfew and the arrival of 10,000 troops to stop the looting. Military roadblocks were set up outside many cities to keep other looters from entering. At the same time, President Bachelet is promising to deliver the necessary food, water and shelter to the thousands of people living on the streets.
While Bachelet is stepping out of office in just a few weeks, President-elect Sebastián Piñera has already announced he will be working with Bachelet and her administration for the organization of long-term relief. Bachelet certainly does have a legacy of strong leadership in difficult times, and a long history of overcoming challenges.
In fact, while her very own life has been shaken to the core many times, she holds a long list of accomplishments that represents some of the first steps in breaking the glass-ceiling that women face in Latin America and around the world. During the coup in 1973, her father, General Bachelet was arrested, accused of treason, and tortured until he suffered a severe heart attack in 1974. Despite this difficult time, Michelle Bachelet continued to pursue her studies and participated in the Socialist Party by helping those who were hiding from the regime. A year after her father’s death, intelligence agents detained both her and her mother, and questioned and tortured for a month. They were then sent to Australia and later East Germany as exiles. Still, Michelle Bachelet did not let this crush her own ambitions as she enrolled in medical school in Germany, married a fellow Chilean exile, and formed a family. Upon her return to Chile, she graduated as a successful surgeon and then continued to pursue a specialty in pediatrics and public health. Throughout the years, she would continue to take classes in a variety of fields, and embark upon all kinds of career paths in health, policy, and politics. By the year 2000, she was named Minister of Health, finding herself at the head of an organization consisting of more than 70,000 workers and a national network of public health services. During her time in office, she led important reforms in Chile’s health care system. In 2002, she was appointed as the first woman Minister of Defense in Chile. While this came as a surprise to many, her experience was a very positive one as the rank and file of the military collaborated with her to modernize the organization and make crucial decisions about equipment. In 2004, Dr. Bachelet stepped down as Defense Minister to embark upon a 438-day presidential campaign against three other contenders. On January 15, 2006, she won the final election runoff with 53.5% of the votes, and became the first woman President in Chilean history.
With such a long list of challenges overcome and successes earned, we can all hope that President Bachelet will not see this as a defeating moment but rather as one that calls for decisive action.
For news regarding the earthquake and its aftermath, please visit the following links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/28/chile-earthquake-death-toll
For a detailed biography of President Michelle Bachelet, please visit the following link: http://www.chileangovernment.cl/index.php?Itemid=5&id=701&option=com_content&task=view
