President Bachelet's State of the Union Address

On Wednesday, May 21st, 2008, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet gave her 3rd out of 4th State of the Union Address before the Congress in Valparaiso and the millions of Chileans watching her on television. Her emphasis was placed on social security, education, energy issues and a new model of development for the country as it draws closer to the the year 2010 and its Bicentennial Celebration.


Quotable:

"Chile will reject the capture and death of whales for scientific purposes during the next Meeting on the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Furthermore, a law proposal will be sent before the Parliament that declares Chile "free territory" from hunting and a "natural monument".

"... This is an ethical wage for how to look at politics and the State-- to choose the type of society in which we want to live, where between everyone we decide, democratically, what public goods we are going to guarantee to each person... and we assume they are civilizing minimums of our society."

"The numbers tell us that this isn't a "trickle down" of wealth, but rather the actions of the State. Today we have economic growth, this is true, but even more important we have also decreased poverty at a much faster rate than before."

"According to the Global Peace Index, carried out by the Economic Intelligence Unit of London, Chile is the safest country in Latin America and the second safest in the Americas after Canada."

"We want to have a transparent, strong and efficient State so that it plays an active role in overcoming inequalities, providing better services to its citizens, strengthening the administration of the regions and districts and finally, to assure the participation of the citizenship in public affairs."

For more information on her speech or other programs-public policies in the Bachelet Administration, please visit: http://www.gobiernodechile.cl/

Michelle Bachelet signing the next free trade agreement for Chile, with Japan.

Michelle Bachelet attending a breakfast at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) conference in Sydney, Australia this past week.

The 100 Most Powerful Women

According to Forbes, Michelle Bachelet as President of Chile is the #27 most powerful woman in the world.

Check out the article on the most powerful women in the world at:

http://www.forbes.com/

"I want to live in a country where equality exists between girls and boys"

President Bachelet launched a campaign for increased equality between men and women, with a focus on how Chile can be more progressive, without discrimination... and that women and men not only have the same rights, but rather the possibility exists to exercise them and benefit from the development the country has reached.

Ethical Salary Debates
The headlines during the past couple of weeks in Chile (besides the Peruvian earthquake) have been discussing the topic of an ethical salary or a "just wage" for the workers of this country. A Catholic priest started the public debate between unions and workers, government and business, when he mentioned that workers in Chile should earn a better salary, or an "ethical wage." Now President Bachelet is promising to respond to this concern by asking a group of her Ministers, especially our favorite Labour Minister Osvaldo Andrade, to propose a complete plan for how to improve labour relations and working conditions, as well as collective bargaining... incorporating in this element of a just wage. It's great to see this discussion being out in the open and talked about by all sectors of society... maybe Chile can set a new trend to be followed by other developing countries --significantly improving labour standards in all areas.
Keep up the great work and leadership, Michelle!!

President Michelle participated in activities related to the Agricultural sector, especially an initiative by INDAP (part of the Ministry of Agriculture) to give out reconstruction bonds to the small farmers severely affected by the latest cold streaks hitting various regions of the country in what is the most difficult month of winter, August.

Visiting the tomb of Saint Alberto Hurtado on Saturday, August 18th ... Day of Solidarity in Chile.

Michelle Bachelet visited the tomb of now Saint Alberto Hurtado on Saturday, August 18th, 2007 to celebrate the Day of Solidarity. In her speech she made mention of the importance of strengthening CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility, as a call to the ethical conscience of the country, saying that a "fair and just society is not constructed only through laws, but with the commitment and participation of all social actors..."

CHILE OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO PERU’S EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

President Michelle Bachelet expressed Chile’s solidarity with Peru on Thursday morning, following the powerful earthquake that rocked Peru early Wednesday evening.

“Today is a painful day for the Peruvian people, and I have communicated to President Alan Garcia (of Peru) that the government of Chile and the Chilean people will continue to think of the tragedies suffered by the victims and will keep them in our thoughts,” said Bachelet.

GO MICHELLE BACHELET!!!


“I want to take advantage of this event to announce that, in September, I will propose a modification to the current voting laws in order to require a minimum number of women to run for parliamentary or municipal elections,” Bachelet said. She went on to express her hopes about the benefits of such a law.

“When one woman alone becomes a politician, then the woman changes. But when many women are involved in politics, then politics change. This is important because one of the challenges and necessities of a democracy is to improve the quality of politics (…) this measure will be an important step forward for democracy in Chile .”

Congrats! Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as President of Chile in front of international presidents and delegations on Saturday, March 11th, 2006.  

Sarah Kurien, Dr. Michelle Bachelet, Adrien Lopez, Sonya Datta-Sandhu and Erin Vranas

For more information contact Adrien Lopez: adrienlopez@yahoo.com

The Story Behind the Campaign
Sept. 3^rd 2005, Santiago, Chile:

Knowing the historical importance in Chile, the Americas and the world of a woman possibly being elected President, a group of extranjeras, came together on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Starbucks in Santiago. They were in awe of the possibility that a qualified woman leader in Chile could rise to power during their time living in the country. So, instead of sitting back and watching the various campaigns for Bachelet unfold around the city, they took action to start something unique that might have a positive influence over the voters, especially the youth.

Without the ability to vote in Chile, the girls discussed what specific role they could play in the four months leading up to elections. From the very first meeting of GPB the conversations about objectives of the campaign emphasized the need to be well informed about Chilean political parties, the platforms of all of the candidates running, Michelle’s positions, etc. In addition, the initial planning also included a lot of debate on how to maximize cultural sensitivity. “Being ‘gringas’ we didn’t want to be seen by Chileans as imposing any kind of outsider views on anyone, but rather focus on the benefits resulting from Chile’s rapid progress, which serves as a model for the rest of the world to follow. As a successful Defense Minister and the most likely candidate to win President, Bachelet exemplifies this model (the best candidate also happens to be a woman)”, said Erin Vranas from Oregon, one of the founding members of GPB. The campaign strived to communicate that point whenever receiving criticisms that they were just supporting her because she was a woman. “Our first objective was to promote the importance of increased representation of qualified women in public offices in Chile and around the world, with the secondary objective being Bachelet… using her candidacy as a platform to spread an important message to our own countries and the rest of the world,” said Sonya Datta-Sandhu from Michigan, USA:

After solidifying the base of GPB, the group moved forward into the community by participating in activities with various parts of the Bachelet supporters, from Mujeres con Bachelet to Jovenes x Bachelet and even Cyclists for Bachelet. They started off by stopping by the Mujeres office to introduce themselves and the group to other members of the campaign and participating that same night in the remembrance of the “Yes” vote on the plebiscite that kicked Pinochet out of office. They also went with the Youth to paint a preschool in La Pintana, participated in Fiestas Ciudadanas, had representation by a gringa in Valparaiso and even writing back home to spread awareness about the campaign and candidate Michelle. More than anything GPB was able to build relationships with various sectors of the Bachelet campaign, gaining respect for their efforts and being included alongside all other supporters. This active involvement and presence even into the second round hopefully allowed GPB to influence the outcome of the election in some small way… contributing to the expansion of a new vision of leadership in Chile and around the world.

For more information contact Adrien Lopez: adrienlopez@yahoo.com

After thousands in Santiago took to the streets in the middle of January for the closing campaign concert with Michelle and a famous rock group from Mexico, it was a mess of paper and posters supporting her....

• The Chilean flag being waved by Bachelet supporters at the closing ceremonies of the election in January

The Gringas For Bachelet were also integrated in with the Cyclists for Bachelet campaign group... here are a few of us standing with a famous Chilean actress after a march through the streets of Santiago...

"Estoy Contigo" (I am with you) flags expressing her campaign slogan wave in the streets of Santiago, Chile for Michelle Bachelet.

Adrien Lopez decked out in Bachelet campaign gear and biking through the city promoting the candidate in January before the second round elections...

"One car less"... Cyclists for Bachelet ... they participated with our group of Gringas por Bachelet as well in January.

Moneda Presidential Palace in Santiago, Chile. Here a large group of women (and men) come out to support Bachelet in the days before the second round election vote in January.

On the first round election night in December Michelle poses with some of the Youth and Gringas for Bachelet .... downstairs during the after-party in Hotel San Francisco.

Female Artists (singers, actresses, etc.) for Bachelet speak out after the first round election in support of Michelle as President...

Had to capture the smile on this guy's face in support of Michelle Bachelet as President of Chile... after the first round election in December.

Michelle Bachelet (in green) and other politicians who won after the first round election in December wave to the crowds gathered in the street below from the rooftop of Hotel San Francisco.

Current Chilean President Ricardo Lagos speaks with citizens in the streets outside the Moneda Presidential Palace on election day in the first round of voting...

In the command center of Bachelet on December 11th, 2005-- election day in Chile-- Adrien Lopez shows off her "Gringas por Bachelet" t-shirt. (San Francisco Hotel)

Adrien Lopez muestra su polera que dice "Gringas por Bachelet" el 11 de diciembre 2005 en el comando de Bachelet (Hotel San Francisco) 

Dr. Michelle Bachelet and Gringas for Bachelet (GPB)-- AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) breakfast October 24, 2005

Dra. Michelle Bachelet y Gringas por Bachelet (GPB)--- desayuno de la Cámara Chileno Norteamericana de Comercio el 24 de octubre, 2005 

The "Panama Red" group putting on an excellent show at the Youth for Bachelet concert on Friday night in Santiago. El grupo chileno "Panama Red" realizó un buen show el viernes en el concierto de Jovenes con Bachelet en Santiago. 

GPB met up with Daniel Manouchehri, head of the national "Youth for Bachelet" campaign in Chile, on Friday night at their concert in downtown Santiago. GPB tuvo la oportunidad a conocer a Daniel Manouchehri, encargado de la campaña de "Jovenes con Bachelet" en todo Chile, en su concierto el viernes en el centro de Santiago. 

Erin and Sarah at the Michelle Bachelet breakfast sponsored by AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce) on Monday morning. Erin y Sarah asistiendo en el desayuno para Michelle Bachelet patrocinado por AMCHAM el lunes en la mañana.  

The Chilean presidential debates for the December elections appeared by way of CNN on a large screen in Plaza Italia on the night of Wednesday, October 19th, 2005. Los debates presidenciales para las elecciones en Chile en diciembre aparecieron via CNN en una pantalla grande en Plaza Italia el miercoles 19 de octubre, 2005.  

The young and old were out to support Bachelet for the debates on Wednesday night ... Ambos jovenes y ancianos emergieron a apoyar Bachelet para los debates el miercoles en la noche...  

The campaign of "Youth with Bachelet" was out strong with their t-shirts on... La polera puesta de la campaña de "Jovenes con Bachelet"...