The government of President José Antonio Kast officially announced on Wednesday Chile's departure from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), bringing an end to 55 years of membership in the bloc. This decision signifies a new distancing from Havana and alters one of the traditional lines of Chilean foreign policy.
According to The Clinic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the Chilean mission to the United Nations to withdraw "completely and immediately" from the organization through a verbal note that has already been received by the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, currently held by Uganda, and distributed among its more than 120 member states.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs justified the decision by stating that the movement "was created in a different global context and does not address the new challenges and the current international reality." However, it assured that Chile will continue to defend multilateralism through other international organizations.
The exit holds special significance for Cuba. The island is one of the founding countries of the Non-Aligned Movement and has used that forum for decades as one of its main diplomatic platforms to promote resolutions and statements of support against the U.S. embargo.
In fact, in July of this year, Uganda intervened at the UN General Assembly on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement to demand the lifting of economic sanctions against the Cuban regime. In that same vote, Chile chose to abstain, breaking with the position it had maintained during Gabriel Boric's government.
The decision to leave the bloc adds to other gestures from President Kast's government that have highlighted a shift in the relationship with Havana. In June, the president stated that there is "no democracy" in Cuba and described the island's political system as "a decades-long dictatorship," in addition to expressing his support for a potential U.S. intervention to facilitate political change.
Chile became a member of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1971, during the government of Salvador Allende. Its participation was limited to that of an observer during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, until it regained full membership with the return of democracy in 1990.
The departure from the bloc is part of a broader review of foreign policy driven by Kast. In recent months, his administration has also withdrawn support for Michelle Bachelet's candidacy for the UN Secretary-General and decided to leave the United Nations Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
The decision has raised questions among former diplomats and specialists in international relations. Former Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Gloria de la Fuente stated that the Non-Aligned Movement (MNOAL) has historically been a key platform for Chile's relationship with countries of the so-called Global South and warned that leaving the organization could diminish the country's influence in future international negotiations.
Although the Government claims that the measure is a response to an update of its international strategy, Chile's departure also represents a symbolic blow to the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization where Cuba has maintained significant political influence for over six decades.
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