This Sunday, it was revealed that the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs deliberately failed to inform Brazil and Mexico that it would withdraw its support for former President Michelle Bachelet’s candidacy for Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). They claim it was a reciprocal gesture.
It’s worth recalling that on March 24, the government of José Antonio Kast withdrew its support for the former president’s candidacy, arguing, “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 and the eventual success of this nomination unfeasible.”
Despite this, Michelle Bachelet maintains her candidacy for UN Secretary-General with the backing of Brazil and Mexico, and on April 20, she is scheduled to address the General Assembly in New York.
On Sunday morning, La Tercera revealed the reaction of the former Chilean president upon receiving the news that the government would withdraw its support.
Furthermore, the Foreign Ministry, headed by Francisco Pérez Mackenna, stated that they deliberately failed to inform Mexican and Brazilian authorities of the decision to withdraw their support with sufficient advance notice.
“They didn’t warn us in February that they were going to join Bachelet’s candidacy, so, in return, we didn’t notify them that we were going to withdraw our support,” a Foreign Ministry source confirmed.
The Foreign Ministry had been delaying the announcement of the decision due to tensions arising from rising fuel prices, but former President Bachelet insisted on expediting it so she could continue with her agenda, with or without the support of the Chilean government. On March 20, she held a 90-minute meeting with President Kast, during which she informed him that she would be withdrawing her support.
“In all the previous conversations, both those held at the OPE and in the exchanges of opinions after the government took office, the main topic of discussion was delaying the decision. It had never been mentioned before that if we didn’t support Bachelet, Chile would abstain from voting for another candidate; that was a surprise to us,” sources from the ministry told the aforementioned media outlet.
Following the announcement on March 24, Brazil reaffirmed its support for the candidacy, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself said, “Brazil, along with Mexico, will continue to support Michelle Bachelet’s candidacy.”
“(Bachelet) has a solid track record and the ideal qualifications for the position,” the Brazilian president added.
For her part, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that they will maintain their support for Bachelet’s candidacy despite the Kast government’s decision, commenting, “We are going to continue supporting her. I have a call with her soon (…) We consider her an ideal person to lead the United Nations, and we will continue to support her.”
Source: t13
