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Left leader Vallejo backs Bachelet for next president

Communist student leader eagerly awaits Bachelet election victory

Chilean student leader Camila Vallejo backed Michelle Bachelet for president on Thursday and said she eagerly awaited the front-runner's education reforms.

The communist student leader has led millions into the streets since 2011, asserting the right to free education.

Ms Vallejo and three other student leaders in their twenties were elected to congress on Sunday.

Despite mass protests that raised hopes of deep educational changes, the system still fails families with poor quality state schools, expensive private universities, unprepared teachers and banks that make big profits on costly loans.

But the 25-year-old Communist Party member said that she's confident Ms Bachelet's coalition will have enough seats in congress to effect change.

"Given the result of the elections, we have a majority that allows us to make structural changes," Ms Vallejo said.

Sitting next to her was Karol Carolia, another Young Communist student elected to Congress.

"Social movements are pressuring many sectors that were not in favour of change before and that have now changed their mind," she said.

Ms Bachelet, who was Chile's first female president from 2006-2010, took nearly double the votes of conservative rival Evelyn Matthei in the first round and is widely expected to retake the presidency in a December 15 run-off.

Ms Vallejo said the vote will be a major challenge to convince others to support the education reform that she fought for in the streets.

But she said she's confident Ms Bachelet and her coalition will score a "huge victory."

Ms Bachelet - a socialist, paediatrician and former political prisoner - has vowed major changes to taxes and education and a big reduction in Chile's sharp income inequality.

Her Nueva Mayoria coalition already has the votes in congress needed to raise taxes but lacks the super-majorities to change the dictatorship-era electoral system and constitution.

"Many sectors say we won't be able to makes these changes because we don't have the votes in congress, but we've learned that there's no limit to what the social movement can achieve," Ms Vallejo said.

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