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 Governmentis 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, teaching professor of political science and international relations at Carnegie Mellon University, is coeditor of After Pinochet: The Chilean Road to Democracy and the Market and author of Vital Connections: Politics, Social Security, and Inequality in Chile. Gregory B. Weeks, associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, is the author of The Military and Politics in Post-Authoritarian Chile and U.S. and Latin American Relations.