Former Minister Francisco Vidal (PPD) said Michelle Bachelet will remain active in Chilean politics after dropping out of the race for United Nations Secretary-General. He also accused the right of being unsettled by her possible return to La Moneda in 2029.
Vidal, who served as interior minister, defense minister and government spokesperson, spoke on El Mostrador’s Al Pan Pan program. There, he recalled that the former president had sought to lead the UN but that the current government had not backed her.
"I wanted her to be sitting at the United Nations. The right said no. Now we have her in Chile and the right has colitis," Vidal said. According to BioBioChile, the former minister capped his remarks with an ironic recommendation of the antidiarrheal drug Imecol. The same outlet reported that some right-wing sectors had openly called for Bachelet’s bid not to be supported.
The remarks come after the former president opened the door to a third presidential bid. Asked about that possibility, she replied, "I think so." The remark enthused the opposition and drew criticism from the governing coalition.
President José Antonio Kast also commented on the issue. He said he considers different political leaderships legitimate but argued that the public policies of previous governments should be reviewed. "And that needs to be evaluated," he said.
Vidal avoided treating her candidacy as a certainty and recalled that the election is three years away. His argument points to something else. Someone willing to lead an organization of 193 member countries is unlikely to retire upon returning to Chile. "And what, is she going to be knitting for her grandchildren?" he asked.
To support his point, the former minister reviewed Bachelet’s biography. He mentioned her joining the Socialist Youth at Liceo 1 Javiera Carrera, her clandestine work against the dictatorship and her detention alongside her mother at Villa Grimaldi and Cuatro Álamos. He also cited her exile and her subsequent work with torture victims.
The PPD politician also highlighted her ability to bring together a divided opposition. He said Bachelet is the only person capable of getting Lautaro Carmona, president of the Communist Party, and Christian Democrat Álvaro Ortiz to applaud at the same time. "The opposite ends of the opposition," he summed up.
Regarding criticism of her legacy, Vidal said he was willing to debate tuition-free university education and the tax and labor reforms. However, he clarified that defending that record falls to parties, legislators and former ministers, rather than the former president herself.
The former minister described Bachelet’s return as a morale boost for a political camp that, he acknowledged, had suffered an overwhelming defeat. Even so, he recognized that her presence alone is not enough. The opposition lost some of the working-class vote, he said, and must take security seriously. "If we don’t understand that, we’re a bunch of imbeciles," he warned.
The next step is set. Bachelet will meet next week with the leaders of the opposition parties, a meeting that will show whether her prominence translates into concrete political coordination.
