Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Fla.) shared his support for the Chilean government's decision to withdraw its backing for the candidacy of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as Secretary-General of the United Nations (U.N.).
“In the United States Congress, we know that Michelle Bachelet is little more than a mouthpiece for the dictatorships and socialist regimes of the hemisphere,” Rep. Gimenez shared in a post via X, originally written in Spanish. “We firmly support the Chilean government's decision to withdraw support from this lackey.”
Reuters reported that Chile’s Foreign Ministry confirmed its withdrawal ahead of a United Nations General Assembly election to decide the 10th U.N. secretary general later this year.
"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 wrote in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry asserted that it would refrain from backing any candidate throughout the election process.
The Chilean government’s decision comes weeks after the inauguration of their newly elected conservative independent President, Jose Antonio Kast.
Kast has repeatedly pushed back against Bachelet’s tenure, also criticizing his left-wing predecessor, Gabriel Boric, for supporting her nomination as the U.N. leader. Kast expressed that Boric “made a mistake.”
According to Reuters, the U.N. election process is set to take place in stages throughout the year, including public hearings with candidates and a secret straw Security Council vote.
Bachelet served as Chile’s first female president for two terms from 2006 to 2010 and then from 2014 to 2018. Before her presidential tenure, she worked as Chile’s Minister of National Defense, becoming the first woman to hold the position in Latin America.
Bachelet is among the main candidates for the race to replace the current U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
