Chile’s Bachelet quits race to be next UN chief

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet on Saturday withdrew her candidacy for the position of UN secretary-general, weeks after a straw poll showed her in second to last place among eight candidates.

“Today I announced that I have decided not to continue with my candidacy for the position of secretary-general of the United Nations,” Bachelet, who served as Chile’s first female leader, said in a video posted on her social media accounts.

“Some may believe that the time was not right for a candidacy like the one I sought to represent. I do not regret having taken on this great challenge,” she said.

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet looks up during a debate for UN secretary-general candidates at the UN in New York on July 23.

Photo: Bloomberg

Bachelet stressed that by running for the top UN position, she had helped spark debate “that the next secretary-general should be a woman from Latin America.”

Chile’s government said in a statement that it had withdrawn its support for Bachelet’s candidacy in March.

Since then, it has not backed any of the candidates in the running.

The government also “reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and to reform of the United Nations.”

So far, in three polls as part of the informal process to choose the next UN chief, the 15-member Security Council twice placed former Costa Rican vice president Rebeca Grynspan in the lead.

Guyanese former minister of foreign affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett placed first in the third poll.

Bachelet was initially nominated in February last year by the administration of then-president Gabriel Boric, and supported by the leftist leaders of Mexico and Brazil.

However, the left-leaning 74-year-old’s candidacy lost momentum after Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast withdrew his backing.

Earlier this month at a university event, Bachelet had appeared to recognize her underdog status, joking about her slim chances of leading the global body.

No woman has led the UN in its 80-year history, and only one Latin American has served as secretary-general: Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, at the helm from 1982 to 1991.

According to unwritten practice — one that is not always followed — the top position rotates among geographic regions. This time, it would be Latin America’s turn.

Bachelet’s withdrawal leaves four women and three men in the race to succeed 77-year-old UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of Portugal, who completes his second five-year term on Dec. 31.