Centre-left Michelle Bachelet was yesterday elected new President of Chile, after securing a win by a significant margin over rightist candidate Evelyn Matthei.  Bachelet -who will be inaugurated in March 11th- secured 62.16 % of the votes, which amounts to some 1,3 million votes more than Matthei, who achieved 37.83 % of the ballots. Bachelet won in each of Chile's 15 regions.

Social inequality, the role of education and public health and the legacy of Pinochet dictatorship were some of the most debated issues during the campaign. Bachelet wants these elections to mark a turning point in Chile's history, and for that reason she has proposed to draft a new Constitution, an idea that she reiterated yesterday in the first speech after being declared winner. However, in order to be able to do that, Bachelet will need not only to maintain balance within her coalition (which includes Socialists, Communists and Christian Democrats) but also to reach agreements with the opposition.

The recognition of indigenous peoples is one of the chapters that Bachelet herself said she was willing to address in the new Constitution. According to the 2011 census, indigenous peoples -who have been historically marginalized- are 11% of the Chilean population. Bachelet's election manifesto says that indigenous peoples' rights (both "individual and collective" ones) should be "protected and promoted" by the Chilean state.

But indigenous organizations -especially the Mapuche and Rapanui- have put forward more specific demands. Those organizations want the enforcement of the Antiterrorist law to be discontinued -Bachelet has said she is open to that demand-, and they are also asking for a deep land reform. The indigenous movements argue that indigenous communities should be granted ownership titles over large areas currently in the hands of large landowners. In this respect, Bachelet has referred to the possibility of approving "special autonomy statutes" for the indigenous peoples,  and has also proposed to study alternative ways to purchasing land in order to fulfil indigenous "pending requests".

An August poll by the Central University of Chile found out that favorable trend for indigenous rights exists in Chilean society. 74% of those asked agreed that the Mapuche should be recognized as a nation, and 63% said they should have the right to have an autonomous territory.

(Image: Michelle Bachelet / picture by Gram Slattery/Santiago Times.)