World
Michelle Bachelet withdrew her candidacy to lead the UN after an adverse poll
The former Chilean president said she will not continue in the race for the United Nations Secretary-General. Her decision came after she ranked among the last places in an informal Security Council vote.
Michelle Bachelet announced that she withdrew her bid for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, after a new informal Security Council poll left her candidacy with scant support.
According to Todo Noticias, the former Chilean president communicated her decision in a video posted on her social media accounts. There she said: “Today I announce that I have decided not to continue with my candidacy for the Secretary-General of the United Nations”.
In the third informal consultation among the 15 members of the Security Council, Bachelet received one encouraging vote, 11 against and three abstentions, according to Todo Noticias. That result complicated her chances of succeeding António Guterres, whose second term ends on December 31, 2026.
Bachelet nevertheless defended her candidacy and said she does not regret taking on that challenge. She also argued that her candidacy helped establish the idea that the next person at the head of the organization should be a woman from Latin America.
Todo Noticias recalled that in more than 80 years of history there has never been a woman at the head of the UN Secretary-General’s office and that the only Latin American to hold that post was Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, between 1982 and 1991.
Bachelet’s candidacy had been formally presented by Chile, Brazil and Mexico. Later, according to Todo Noticias, the Chilean government of José Antonio Kast withdrew its support, while Brazil and Mexico maintained theirs. In her message, the former president especially thanked Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Claudia Sheinbaum for that backing.
In the same informal round, Rebeca Grynspan received nine favorable votes and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett eight. BAE Negocios added that Rafael Grossi and Olara Otunnu received five votes each.
Todo Noticias noted that, during the campaign, Bachelet maintained contacts with different governments and that her trajectory within the United Nations system included her time at UN Women and the office of the high commissioner for Human Rights. BAE Negocios added that, after withdrawing her candidacy, the former president said she will continue her international work linked to peace, security, sustainable development and human rights.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
