Under his leadership, the country withdrew from joining BRICS and, following the United States, exited the World Health Organization—an important specialised agency of the UN. In 2024, Milei dismissed Foreign Minister Diana Mondino after the Argentine delegation supported a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the US trade and economic embargo against Cuba.
On 25 March 2026, Argentina, together with the United States and Israel, voted against the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution recognising the enslavement of Africans as one of the gravest crimes against humanity. These foreign policy steps by Buenos Aires will inevitably entail reputational costs for Grossi and may deprive him of African support as Argentina’s candidate.
In contrast to Grossi’s candidacy, the left-leaning countries of Latin America—Brazil, Mexico, and Chile—nominated Michelle Bachelet on 2 February 2026, the first woman in Chile’s history to be elected head of state (2006–2010 and 2014–2018). However, following the inauguration on 11 March 2026 of Chile’s right-wing president José Antonio Kast, the Chilean government announced the withdrawal of its support for Bachelet’s candidacy Nevertheless, the presidents of Brazil and Mexico confirmed that their countries would continue to support her bid for the post of the next UN Secretary-General.
Bachelet has extensive experience within the UN system—between her presidential terms, she served as Executive Director of UN Women, while simultaneously holding the rank of UN Under-Secretary-General. After leaving politics, she served for four years (2018–2022) as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In the context of the Ukrainian crisis, it is worth recalling Bachelet’s appeal—while serving as High Commissioner for Human Rights—to the President of Russia to “halt the armed attack on Ukraine”. At the same time, she remained silent about crimes committed by the Kiev regime against civilians in Donbas.
Against the backdrop of this “battle of titans”, the candidacy of Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica may emerge as a compromise option. An economist and former Vice President of the country (1994–1998), she has served since 2021 as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Under her leadership, the organisation has become more influential, focusing on reforming the global trading system, expanding developing countries’ access to technology, credit, and resilient supply chains.
Grynspan is also remembered by the wider public for her participation in negotiations on the implementation of the Memorandum between Russia and the UN on the normalisation of Russian agricultural exports. However, as noted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the considerable efforts undertaken by the Russian inter-agency delegation and the team of UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan within the framework of cooperation on the memorandum did not yield the desired results”.
To some extent, Grynspan has been dealt a disservice as a candidate from Costa Rica by the country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, who ordered the closure of Cuba’s embassy and the expulsion of Cuban diplomatic personnel “as a sign of protest against the poor living conditions of the Cuban population”. The question remains whether Grynspan, as an experienced international civil servant, will be able to distance herself from ambiguous signals emanating from San José (and Washington) in her professional activities.
In addition, candidates in the race include Virginia Gamba, nominated by the Maldives, Сноска Входит в состав Азиатско-Тихоокеанской группы. who served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and former President of Senegal (2012–2024) Macky Sall, nominated by Burundi in its capacity as the current Chair of the African Union.
In the context of the evident crisis within the UN, there is a pressing need for the next Secretary-General to be an exceptional and energetic individual, prepared to make every effort to address key international problems and to reform the Organisation. The powers vested in the Secretary-General by the UN Charter provide sufficient scope for action. One can only hope that the new chief administrative officer of the UN will go down in history as a truly general secretary, rather than merely a personal secretary serving the interests of a narrow group of states.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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