Deputy Javier Olivares responded to the possibility of Michelle Bachelet running for La Moneda for a third time with a piece of advice: follow Evelyn Matthei's example and devote herself to making "some good stews". That is how an opinion column written by a psychologist and published by La Tercera recounts it, according to the newspaper. The text does not specify when or where the remarks were made.
Bachelet, 75, served twice as president of Chile, as a minister and as a senior United Nations official. She recently left the door open to another candidacy. Matthei, the former mayor of Providencia, has also not ruled out running in the 2029 election.
The strongest response came from the opposing political camp. Matthei, who faced Bachelet in the 2013 presidential election, replied: "In Chile, the days when women were sent 'to the kitchen' are over".
Minister of Women Judith Marín also condemned the remarks. Olivares responded that he owed no one an apology and would not engage "in the game of victimization". He also advised her to concern herself with Prodemu, the Foundation for the Promotion and Development of Women, "before we close your ministry".
The columnist acknowledges that criticizing Bachelet's governments is legitimate and that former male presidents are also advised to retire. However, she says she has never heard anyone send one of them to the kitchen. In her view, retiring a former male president removes him from politics, while sending a former female president to the kitchen seeks to return her to the place that, in the speaker's view, was always hers.
The text explains the episode through the backlash effect, a concept that researcher Laurie Rudman and her colleagues have studied since the late nineties. It describes the penalties women face when they exercise or seek power. According to that research, a distinguished career does not protect them, and the penalty is rarely expressed openly.
The author also cites Sigmund Freud to explain the use of humor. According to that interpretation, a joke allows someone to say in jest what they would not say seriously without paying a price. She also draws on the work of Joseph Vandello and Jennifer Bosson, who describe masculinity as a status that requires repeated reaffirmation.
For the columnist, Bachelet and Matthei show two sides of the same problem. The former was criticized for being too approachable and maternal. The latter was criticized for her strong character, which would have been seen as firmness in a man.
The episode adds to an early presidential race. Both figures are seen as possible candidates for 2029, while President José Antonio Kast's approval rating fell to 27% in the latest Agenda Criteria poll, conducted on October 8 and 9.
