SANTIAGO, Chile. – Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared: “The world is ready” so that Woman takes over leadership for the first time United Nations and exercise “other leadership” by affirming your willingness to do so compete for the post of Secretary General the multilateral organization.
The candidacy promoted by President Gabriel Boric opened a Internal political debate in the Andean country and triggered a variety of reactions, such as that of the elected president conservative José Antonio Kast, He met with the former head of state but avoided making a final statement until he officially took office on March 11.
In an interview with the AFP agency, Bachelet claimed that there is one “historic opportunity” that a woman leads the UN, an institution that has never been led by a female secretary-general in its almost 80 years of existence. “Women can have different characteristics, other types of leadershipwhat can be companybut that too include the humanity component “It is necessary to face the problems that exist in the world today,” said the former socialist president.
Two-time President of Chile (2006-2010 and 2014-2018), Bachelet was officially proposed by Boric as a candidate to succeed the Portuguese António Guterres, who will complete his second term at the head of the UN on December 31, 2026. The support of the current Chilean government is also based on an unwritten practice of the international organization, according to which the The Secretary General rotates between regions. On this occasion would correspond to Latin America and there is one broad diplomatic consensus that the position should go to a woman for the first time.
Bachelet assured that her future government would strive for this modernize the functioning of the organism. “I believe that I can contribute to building the United Nations more efficient, effective and transparent“said the 74-year-old pediatrician, one of the Latin American figures with the longest track record in the multilateral system.
After her first term as president, Bachelet took over the management of UN Women, The agency was founded to promote gender equality and served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2018 and 2022. His political and diplomatic career was also marked by historical milestones: it was him the first female defense minister of Chile and Latin America, a position she held despite being tortured by the armed forces themselves during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, in which her father, an air force general, also died.
The Bachelet’s nominationHowever, must have the support of the Chilean state beyond the current government. The meeting he held on Monday with the President-elect is in this context. José Antonio Kastwho visited her this Monday for almost an hour and a half in the offices of Horizonte Ciudadano, the foundation chaired by the former president.
As Kast explained, during the meeting, in addition to the candidacy for the United Nations, they also discussed security, childhood, defense and primary health.
Despite the expectations raised, the leader is the conservative right avoided jeopardizing his support. “I will not say anything until March 11 because today I am the elected president. It would not be appropriate for me, upon taking office, to make a statement on something that only concerns me.“, he remarked.
Kast added that “today it is important to respect the institutions” and recalled that there is currently “a president in office, namely Gabriel Boric”. In this sense, he did not rule out possible support, but made it dependent on an assessment of national expediency: “It depends on what is convenient for Chile.”
Another important candidate in the race for the top position in the UN is the Argentinian Rafael Grossi, Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who is officially supported by the government of Javier Milei, an ally of Kast, so it could be another name that tempts the Chilean conservative leader.
In the meantime, Boric has already expressed his political support for Bachelet’s candidacywhich is inscribed in one international projection strategy of the country and strengthening multilateralism, one of the discursive axes of its foreign policy. The final nomination would also require significant diplomatic and budgetary commitment, an aspect that has begun to be discussed in Chile’s public debate.
Álvaro Elizalde, Chile’s Interior Minister, yesterday expressed the Socialist government’s support for Bachelet’s candidacy. “Chile has the opportunity to lead the United Nations because of Michelle Bachelet’s career. We must put aside domestic politics and think about what is best for the country at the international level,” Elizalde said.
At the international level, Bachelet also referred to various global conflicts. When asked about the escalation of violence related to the drug trade in America, she advocated a regional mediation led by important leaders such as the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva or the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. “The fact that there can be such strong mediators from the region can be a solution,” he said.
The former Chilean president is not the only candidate for the office. Among the names being discussed as Guterre’s successors are Costa Rican Rebeca Grynspan, current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad); the Mexican Alicia Bárcena, Minister of the Environment; and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.
AFP agency and newspaper Emol/GDA
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