Chile Elects Its First Woman President, A Victim of Torture Under Pinochet

Last Sunday night, our neighborhood was overtaken by the sounds of honking, yelling and chanting. When we drifted out to the Alameda -- the main avenue a block from our apartment -- cars and people were rushing towards the civic center of Santiago. People were waving flags, leaping in time to a rhythmic chant of "El que no salta es Pinochet!" -- loosely, "If you don't jump, you're with Pinochet!" Chile had just elected its first woman president, from the center-left Concertacion coalition party. See my article on the election in The Nation online, here.