President-elect Michelle Bachelet easily won Sunday's presidential runoff in Chile, returning center-left parties to power by promising profound social changes in response to years of street protests, the Associated Press reported.
"The social and political conditions are here and at last the moment has arrived," Bachelet said after winning 62 percent of the vote in a runoff against the center-right's candidate, Evelyn Matthei.
According to the AP, analysts noted that the 41 percent voter turnout was the lowest since Chile's return to democracy, suggesting Bachelet will need to move deliberately, not radically, when she begins her second turn in office next year.
"If I'm here it's because we believe that a Chile for everyone is necessary," said Bachelet. "It won't be easy, but when has it been easy to change the world?"
Bachelet will be sworn in on March 11, 2014, giving President Sebastian Pinera nearly three months left in office, the AP reported.
"Michelle, you can have the certainty that from our side you're going to have a constructive and patriotic attitude," Pinera told Bachelet in a telephone conversation broadcast live on TV. "Beyond our differences, we all want the same - what's best for Chile."
After sharing an hour-long breakfast at Bachelet's home on Monday to discuss the transition, Bachelet then planned to meet with congressional party leaders who will be key to approving her $15 billion program to overhaul education, improve health care and reduce the vast gap between rich and poor, according to the AP.
The 62-year old pediatrician ended her 2006-2010 presidency with 84 percent approval ratings despite failing to achieve any major changes.
"She'll achieve some things: The tax reform is in her pocket. ... I think student leaders who have been elected to Congress will sign off on educational reform," said Kenneth Bunker, a Chilean political scientist. "Bachelet's expectations are high, but things will be achieved."
Patricio Navia, a Chilean political scientist at New York University, sees a tough road for Bachelet, who ran the U.N.'s women's agency after leaving the presidency, the AP reported.
"It's the most decisive victory in eight decades, but the most important thing is that Bachelet got fewer votes than her four predecessors, including herself in 2006," Navia said. "There isn't really a big confidence vote for the reforms some people want to implement. Her biggest challenge will be to match expectations with reality."
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