Michelle Bachelet Meets with President Lula Amid Struggles for UN Secretary General Post

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday to discuss her candidacy for UN Secretary General. The meeting comes as Bachelet faces a difficult scenario following two rounds of informal consultations in the UN Security Council. In the first secret poll, Bachelet ranked fourth with six encouraging votes, five discouraging votes, and four neutral votes. However, her performance declined in the second consultation, where she received only two encouraging votes, six negative votes, and seven neutral votes. According to one report, she finished penultimately in that round, surpassing only the candidate from Ecuador, Ivonne Baki.

Bachelet is formally supported by the governments of Brazil and Mexico, though she lost the support of the Chilean government after José Antonio Kast took power. Before arriving in Brasília, Bachelet met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Reports indicate that the meeting in Mexico was delayed by several days, leading to questions about Mexico's level of commitment to her bid.

Opposition from the United States is cited as a primary obstacle. One source notes that President Donald Trump has not responded to Brazilian requests to receive Bachelet, while another mentions that US Ambassador Michael Waltz has openly criticized her nomination. The threat of a veto from the United States, a permanent member of the Security Council, looms over her candidacy.

Brazil and Mexico argue that it is important for the UN to be led by a woman from Latin America, as no woman has held the post since 1946 and the last Latin American leader served from 1982 to 1991. Supporters in the Brazilian government suggest that the viability of the candidates will only become clear once the identities of the voters are revealed, specifically whether the discouraging votes came from permanent members with veto power.