The Bachelet Government: Conflict and Consensus in Post-Pinochet Chile

An indispensible guide to contemporary politics in Chile.Lisa Baldez, Dartmouth College discusses and analyzes the successes and failures of this woman who rightfully earned a distinguished place in history books even before she assumed the presidency.""--Patricio Navia, New York University. Michelle Bachelet was the first elected female president of Chile, and the first women elected president of any South American country. What was just as remarkable, though less noted, was the success and stability of the political coalition that she represented, the Concertacion. Though Bachelet was the fourth consecutive Concertacion president, upon taking office her administration quickly faced a series of crises, including massive student protests, labor unrest, internal governmental divisions, and allegations of ineptitude and wrongdoing as a result of a major reorganization of Santiago's transportation system. Candidate Bachelet promised not only different policies but also a different policymaking style--a style characterized by a kinder and gentler approach to politics in a country with a long tradition of machismo and strong male rulers. Bachelet promised to listen to the people and to return power to those who had been denied it in the past. Her attitude enhanced the influence of existing social movements and inspired the formation of new ones. The Bachelet Government is the first book to examine the policies, political issues, and conflicts of Bachelet's administration, and the first to provide analyses of the challenges, successes, and failures experienced by the Concertacion since 1989.

Silvia Borzutzky is director of the political science program at Carnegie Mellon University and the author of Vital Connections: Politics, Social Security, and Inequality in Chile. Lois Hecht Oppenheim is professor of political science at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, and the author of Politics in Chile: Democracy, Authoritarianism and the Search for Development.