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Original article: Gobierno de Kast le quita piso a Bachelet y retira apoyo a su candidatura en la ONU

The administration of José Antonio Kast has withdrawn support for former president Michelle Bachelet and Chile’s endorsement of her candidacy for the Secretary-General position at the United Nations (UN).

Bachelet, who served as president from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, was nominated by the previous president, Gabriel Boric (2022-2026), in conjunction with Brazil and Mexico.

«The Government of Chile informs that it has decided to withdraw its support for former president Michelle Bachelet’s nomination as a candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations, made together with Brazil and Mexico,» stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release published on its website this Tuesday.

«We have come to the conviction that the context of this election, the dispersion of candidacies from Latin American countries, and the differences with some of the relevant actors defining this process, make this candidacy unviable and the eventual success of this nomination unlikely,» the statement continued.

As part of the decision to retract Chile’s sponsorship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassies representing the country abroad will cease their involvement in promotional efforts for Bachelet’s candidacy.

In their statement, the far-right government indicated that if the former president continues with her candidacy, they will not support any other contender.

«Nonetheless, considering the former president Bachelet’s trajectory, if she decides to proceed with her nomination, Chile will abstain from supporting any other candidates in this electoral process,» the text notes.

Bachelet is among the candidates vying to succeed Portuguese Antonio Guterres, who will conclude his second term as UN Secretary-General on December 31, 2026.

The former president has held prominent positions within the international organization. She was the Executive Director of UN Women (2010-2013) and later served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2018-2022).

Although not a regulated practice, it is anticipated that the Secretary-General position should rotate among regions, and this time it could be assigned to a representative from Latin America. Bachelet’s name has gained traction, considering that in 80 years, no woman has held the highest office at the UN, and only one Latin American representative, the Peruvian diplomat Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, has served from 1982 to 1991.

Support from Brazil and Mexico for Bachelet’s Candidacy

Despite lacking Chile’s support, the 74-year-old pediatrician Bachelet can still pursue her candidacy, thanks to the backing of Mexico and Brazil.

When announcing the tripartite support in early February, former president Gabriel Boric highlighted that the alliance aimed to express a «common will to contribute to global governance and to strengthen multilateralism,» as well as to signal a «shared hope for Latin America and the Caribbean to make their voices heard in building collective solutions to the tremendous challenges of our time.»

Boric justified this stance by emphasizing the need for a more effective international organization, arguing that «the international system can and must respond with greater efficiency, urgency, legitimacy, and humanity to the major problems of our global age.»

To support the nomination, he referenced Bachelet’s extensive experience: twice a head of state, Minister of Health and Minister of Defense, the first Executive Director of UN Women, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

«They demonstrate a political and humanitarian experience that allows her to make a serious and substantive contribution to the work of the United Nations, at a time when the world needs more cooperation, trust, and shared responsibility,» he added, emphasizing the «recognition, respect, and affection» that the former president has earned in multilateral forums.

Right-Wing Veto

It’s worth noting that on Friday, March 20, the former president visited the Palace of La Moneda for a meeting with President José Antonio Kast.

This meeting occurred during the same week that Kast’s far-right administration appointed Roberto Ampuero as their ambassador to the UN, amidst pressure from political parties supporting the president, who insisted he withdraw his support for the former president.

“If it were up to me, she would obviously not be the candidate,” asserted Senator Arturo Squella weeks ago, chairman of the Republican Party, the political organization Kast left upon assuming the Presidency.

This position had also been voiced by the president of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Guillermo Ramírez, who clarified in December of last year that if he were president, he would not support Bachelet.

“If I were President, I would not support her,” Ramírez stated in an interview with Canal 13’s Mesa Central program.

Before taking office as President of Chile, Kast had tried to maintain a low profile on the issue, only stating: “I will see what I do.” However, following the Foreign Ministry’s announcement, it became clear that he opted to undermine the former president’s ambitions at the UN.

La entrada Kast Government Withdraws Support for Bachelet’s UN Candidacy se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.