A daughter of history rises in Chile by Maria Elena Salinas

“For the first time in history, Chileans will be addressing their head of state as “Madame President.” What is significant about the fact that Michelle Bachelet will be taking the oath of office on Saturday is not just that she is a woman, but that she is a socialist who was elected despite being a divorced single mother and confessed agnostic living in a deeply religious and socially conservative, macho society.

As if that were not astounding enough, Bachelet will be commander-in-chief to some of the very-high-level military officers under whom she and her parents were detained and tortured following the 1973 coup against leftist President Salvador Allende.”

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