Chilean left-of centre politician, president of Chile from 2006. A moderate socialist, she became Chile's first female president in March 2006 after narrowly defeating Sebastián Pinera, a centre-right billionaire businessman-politician. She continued Chile's free-market economic policies, signing a free-trade treaty with China. She also sought to narrow the large gap between the country's rich and poor through increasing social benefits, including free healthcare for the elderly.
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