MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Boric endorsing Bachelet for UN top post beyond his own term

Boric insisted on Bachelet, although António Guterres' term is not ending until Dec. 31, 2026

Chile’s outgoing President Gabriel Boric Font confirmed on Tuesday that his administration would formalize the candidacy of former President Michelle Bachelet for Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

Boric, who is soon to hand over power to President-elect José Antonio Kast of his political antipodes, told CNN that the physician's nomination was a “state decision” that transcended electoral ups and downs.

The announcement came as Chile prepares for a change in leadership. While President-elect Kast has yet to confirm whether his incoming administration will maintain support for Bachelet, Boric argued that her global stature makes her the natural choice for the role.

“We are going to formalize that candidacy. We are looking at the deadlines with the president [Bachelet], in conversations with other world leaders as well, but the goal is for us to formalize that candidacy,” Boric stated.

Addressing critics who suggest the nomination should be left to the next government, Boric replied that “she is one of the people with the qualifications, particularly for the difficult times the world is experiencing and for multilateralism.”

The selection of a UN Secretary-General requires the consensus of the five permanent members of the Security Council—the U.S., Russia, China, France, and the UK, any of whom can exercise a veto.

Given Boric's distant rapport with US President Donald Trump, political circles in Santiago fear that the far-left leader's endorsement might jeopardize Bachelet's chances. “In these matters, one must act without hiding one's cards. If the United States decides to veto President Bachelet for that reason, well, it would have to justify it,” Boric argued while recalling Chile's consistent stance against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine as evidence of the South American country's solid foreign policy.

Just across the Andes, Argentina has nominated the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency Director General, Rafael Grossi, for the position, a move directly backed by President Javier Milei, whose political views are more aligned with those of Kast.

The future Chilean President will make up his mind on the UN top job after taking office on March 11. Many see him more likely to support Rossi over a former two-time Socialist president seeking to pierce the so-called “glass ceiling.” Never has a woman held the UN's top spot, which point Boric has repeatedly raised as a “historical gender imbalance.”