SANTIAGO – Chile abruptly withdrew support for former president Michelle Bachelet’s candidacy as UN secretary-general on Tuesday, ahead of the 2027 election for the world body’s next five-year leader.
The decision follows weeks after conservative President Jose Antonio Kast’s inauguration, Chile’s sharpest rightward pivot in decades. Kast lambasted Bachelet’s past tenure and slammed predecessor Gabriel Boric’s endorsement,joined by Brazil and Mexico, as a misstep.
Once a frontrunner, Bachelet, Chile’s first female president and two-term leader, held key UN roles: high commissioner for human rights (2018-22) and executive director of UN Women (2010-13). Chile’s foreign ministry cited Latin American rival candidates and process hurdles: “This candidature and its eventual success is inviable.” Santiago will now abstain from backing any contender.
The reversal underscores Kast’s influence in reshaping Chile’s global stance, potentially scrambling regional dynamics in the UN race.