Chile has formally endorsed former president Michelle Bachelet as its candidate to become the UN's first female Secretary General, with Mexico and Brazil backing her bid.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Monday announced the decision amid concerns that support for Ms Bachelet could waver under president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, a conservative who takes office next month.
In a social media post, Mr Boric said Ms Bachelet “faithfully embodies the values of the United Nations” and that her candidacy reflects a shared regional ambition for Latin America and the Caribbean to play a stronger role in shaping global solutions.
“With this shared commitment to the defence of democracy, global governance, multilateralism and human rights, from Latin America we continue to believe in an international system capable of responding with greater effectiveness, legitimacy and humanity to the world’s great challenges,” he wrote, calling the nomination “a source of pride for Chile".
Ms Bachelet, 74, was Chile's first female defence minister and its first female president, holding office in two non-consecutive terms, from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 2018.
She was later the UN’s high commissioner for human rights.
During her tenure, Ms Bachelet criticised US President Donald Trump, who was serving his first term, over his policies on immigration and racial justice, prompting sharp rebukes from Washington and contributing to the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council.
Mr Boric nominated her for the top UN post last year, and she later met Mr Kast to seek cross-party support for her candidacy.
The UN, which marks its 81st anniversary this year, has had only one Latin American secretary general, Peruvian diplomat Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served from 1982 to 1991.
Traditionally, the position rotates among world regions, with Latin America next in line as the term of current Secretary General Antonio Guterres comes to an end.
Another declared contender is Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
