Chile withdraws backing for former president Bachelet as UN secretary-general

SANTIAGO, March 24 (Reuters) - Chile on Tuesday said it was withdrawing its backing for the candidacy ​of former President Michelle Bachelet as Secretary-General ‌of the United Nations, ahead of an election that will decide its leader for a five-year term starting in 2027.

​The withdrawal of Chile’s support comes weeks ​after the swearing in of President Jose Antonio ⁠Kast, marking the South American country’s sharpest shift ​to the right in decades.

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Kast has repeatedly ​criticized Bachelet’s presidency and said his leftist predecessor Gabriel Boric “made a mistake” when he supported her nomination, alongside Brazil and Mexico, ​for the leadership of the U.N.

Bachelet ​was considered a frontrunner for the race.

Chile’s first female ‌head ⁠of state and two-time president, she served as U.N. high commissioner for human rights from 2018-22 and executive director of U.N. Women from 2010-13.

“We have reached ​the conclusion ​that given ⁠the election, the various candidates of countries in Latin America and the ​differences with some of the actors who ​define ⁠this process, this candidature and its eventual success is inviable,” Chile’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

⁠The ​ministry added that it would ​abstain from supporting any candidate in the election process.

Reporting by ​Alexander Villegas, Editing by Iñigo Alexander and Sarah Morland.

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