People see I am a mother and head of a household. Today in Chile, one-third of households are run by women. They wake up, take the children to school, go to work. To them I am hope.

For me, a better democracy is a democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect but to be elected.

Chile needs to unite behind the goals of reducing poverty and creating more equal opportunities so that everyone can benefit from what the country has to offer.

I took a gamble to exercise leadership without losing my feminine nature.

In any area of the UN we ... have to agree on certain language that can represent the same spirit, but that can be accepted by everyone.

I was not born in a home where there were stereotypes. So that was very useful because it gave me the sense of possibilities, of flying, if I may say, of making my hopes and dreams a reality.

Chile has changed. The people have become more mature and they are more conscious of their rights. They want to participate and have a say about things such as if and where a power plant can be built.