Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that her government will continue backing Michelle Bachelet’s candidacy for UN Secretary-General, after Chilean President José Antonio Kast announced the withdrawal of support. Sheinbaum praised Bachelet’s experience and said she plans to call her soon.
During her morning press conference on March 25, 2026, President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that “we will continue supporting her. I have a call with her soon. She is a woman with a lot of experience, who seeks peace in the world. She is an ideal person to lead the United Nations.” She emphasized that Mexico’s reasons for backing Bachelet “remain valid,” even though it is not necessary to support candidates from one’s own country. Mexico decided to support Bachelet in October 2025 after a meeting with her and Alicia Bárcena, now secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), who also backs the bid due to her UN knowledge and her role as ambassador to Chile from 2022 to 2023. Sheinbaum consulted Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente and Bárcena, both in agreement. She said they would check Brazil’s stance, the other previous ally alongside Chile. Chilean President José Antonio Kast withdrew support in a statement the previous day, arguing that “the context of this election, the dispersion of candidacies from Latin American countries, and differences with some relevant actors defining this process make this candidacy unviable.” Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna reinforced that “the probability of success is very low” due to fragmentation of South American candidates and views from key figures, involving costs beyond economic ones. Bachelet confirmed her bid continues with Mexico and Brazil’s support. She competes with Rebeca Grynspan from Costa Rica, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, and Ivonne Baki, who is Ecuadorian-Lebanese. Current Secretary-General António Guterres’s term ends on December 31, 2026. Chilean opposition criticized the move: PPD’s Jaime Quintana called it “a grave error,” and José Antonio Viera-Gallo described it as “very ideological,” though he said Bachelet could still win.
