I know I'm supposed to write about Peru

But I'm going to digress to the south a bit. I developed a lot of respect for Chilean President Michele Bachelet while I was there at the beginning of her term. 

The few months I was in Chile, Bachelet faced nationwide students protests calling for education reform. Student councils up and down the country organized simultaneous tomas, or takeovers, of their high schools. Soon many elementary schools followed suit. Bachelet was forced to respond directly to the students' demands and put education reform on the table. Not everyone was so sure she would come out of it on top.

But now she's on her way out of office, and could end up being one of the most popular leaders in Chilean history. Well done, I say, for being the first female president in a very conservative South American country.