On 6 April 2026, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs removed the officials who were part of the team promoting Chile’s Feminist Foreign Policy, one of the initiatives championed by the administration of former President Gabriel Boric that advocated for gender mainstreaming on the international stage. The decision included reassignments and dismissals. The Foreign Ministry emphasized that the gender directorate will continue to exist under the Human Rights and Family division and maintained that the dismissals are part of the 3% budget cut mandated by the Treasury.
Corporación Miles Chiles stated that this is not merely a budget cut or an internal management decision: “It is a political signal regarding the place that the rights of women and LGBTIQA+ people will occupy at the international level,” adding that “choosing this specific area [for cuts] is not neutral. When the gender perspective becomes dispensable in foreign policy, a dangerous precedent is set that can spill over into other areas such as health, care, or violence.” Furthermore, they note that this is not an isolated signal and occurs within a context of shifts in international gender-related voting and the withdrawal of support for Michelle Bachelet’s candidacy for UN Secretary-General.
It is worth noting that this international policy was vital for relations between civil society and the government, as it included facilitating national delegations with a gender perspective to attend and work at events such as the CSW, the Belém do Pará Convention, and the Regional Conference on Women, among other multilateral forums.