The eldest daughter of Augusto Pinochet, former Chilean despotic president who maintained a tight grip on the Latin American country for 17 years, made an official announcement to run for general elections on October 8.
Lucia Pinochet said that she will run for the 2009 general elections to become a federal legislator in the Chamber of Deputies and vowed to fight against all suspicions and criticism cast on her family in the National Congress.
The announcement came amid her being released on bail only a day after she had been arrested on charges of embezzling millions of dollars worth of public fund with her family. Chilean authorities are investigating into an allegation that former President Pinochet misappropriated a total of over $25 million during his term.
It is not just Chile where a dictator’s daughter, who had enjoyed a luxurious life while her father was in office, jumped into politics by using his fame and political asset. The much-criticized dictators’ descendents attempt to “reclaim honor” through becoming a politician, but this has sparked huge controversy.
In Peru, with former President Alberto Fujimori’s trial scheduled for next month, his daughter Keiko Fujimori is receiving much attention. Keiko Fujimori, a lawmaker who recorded an unprecedented 600,000 votes nationwide in the last general elections, is gunning for the next Peruvian presidency.
Former President Fujimori is suspected of two rounds of kidnapping and massacre, misappropriation of public funds, and bribing opposition lawmakers during his 10-year term. He fled overseas seven years ago, but was repatriated last month and is now in a detention camp located in the capital Lima.
From Keiko’s perspective, her father is a “leader who fought against terrorism and brought peace to the country.” She went to the airport with over 700 supporters to greet the repatriated father on September 23.
Amid continued economic recession, the public’s nostalgia of the past years when Fujimori was in power has become the biggest stepping stone for Keiko to engage in politics. A recent public survey found that as much as 23 percent of Peruvians wanted him to come back.
The former dictator said last month, “Even if I cannot run for the next presidency, another Fujimori will go for it,” hinting at his daughter’s presidential aspirations.
Imee Marcos, daughter of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is already a third-term politician.
In July, she was under heavy criticism for filing a lawsuit with the government to reclaim $10 billion out of her father’s fortune.
The government of the Philippines has yet to finalize the redemption of the huge amount of money allegedly misappropriated by the former leader.
Raghad Hussein, the eldest daughter of Saddam Hussein who once expressed her ambition for politics, though is keeping a low profile now.
Raghad Hussein told an Arab news media that she is considered as Saddam’s successor by many Iraqis and that politics is her future as well as her life.
Unlike these women, a daughter of Fidel Castro, Cuban president of the Council of State, disapproves of her father. Alina Fernandez has publicly bashed Fidel Castro through various speeches and publications, since she went into exile to the U.S. in disguise as a Spanish tourist.
チリを１７年間も独裁統治した独裁者アウグスト?ピノチェト元大統領の長女が８日、総選挙への出馬を公式宣言した。
ピノチェト元大統領の長女ルシア?ピノチェト氏は８日、「０９年の総選挙で連邦下院議員に出馬する」と宣言し、「議会に入城し、私たち家族に注がれたすべての疑惑と非難に対抗して闘う」と明らかにした。
ルシア氏の出馬宣言は、彼女が先週、家族とともに数百万ドルの公金横領容疑で逮捕され、翌日に保釈された後に出された。チリ政府は、ピノチェト元大統領が政権期間中、２５００万ドル以上の資金を横領した容疑をつかんで捜査中だ。
ぜいたくな暮しを享受し、政権没落後、父親の政治的資産を活用して政界に飛び込んだ独裁者の娘は、チリだけの存在ではない。しかし、批判に苦しみ「名誉回復」を主張して出てきた彼らの政界進出は、激しい論議を呼び起こす。
来月、アルベルト?フジモリ元大統領の裁判を控えたペルーでは、彼の娘のケイコ?フジモリ議員の行動が注目されている。昨年の総選挙で６０万票という全国最多得票記録をうち立て、議員になった彼女は、次期大統領選挙への出馬もねらっている。
フジモリ元大統領は、１０年間の在職中に、２度の拉致や虐殺、公金流用、野党議員買収などの不法行為を行った容疑がある。７年前海外に逃走したが、先月チリに強制送還され、首都リマの収容所に収監されている。
ケイコ議員は、そんな父親を「テロに対抗して戦い、平和をもたらした指導者」と主張する。先月２３日に父親が強制送還された時は、支持者約７００人を率いて空港にやってきた。
経済難が続くペルーで、フジモリ元大統領への「郷愁」は、ケイコ議員の最大の政治的基盤だ。最近の世論調査では、フジモリ元大統領の復帰を願う声が２３％にも及んだ。
フジモリ元大統領は先月、「次の大統領選挙に私が出られなくても、もう一人のフジモリ（ケイコ議員）が出るだろう」と言って、娘の大統領選への出馬を示唆した。
フィリピンの独裁者フェルディナンド?マルコス元大統領の娘イミ?マルコス氏は、すでに当選３回の重鎮政治家だ。
彼女は７月、父親が残した財産１００億ドルの返還を求める訴訟を起こして話題になった。フィリピン政府はまだ、マルコス元大統領が横領したと推定される巨額の資金の返還を終えていない。
今は沈黙しているサダム?フセイン元イラク大統領の長女も、政界入りする野心を表明したことがある。ラガド?サダム?フセイン氏は、昨年父親が死刑になる前にアラブのメディアとのインタビューで、「多くのイラク人が、私を父の後継者と考えている。政治は、私の人生であり未来だ」と話した。
むろん、反対に父親を否定する娘もいる。キューバのフィデル?カストロ国家評議会議長の娘アリナ?フェルナンデス氏は、スペイン人観光客に偽装して米国に亡命し、演説会や出版物を通じて父親を公に非難した。