The Open Mind, Hosted by Alexander Heffner
Sep 17, 2026 · 31 min · 11 segments
At the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, host Alexander Heffner interviews two-time Chile President and U.N. Secretary General candidate Michelle Bachelet.
Michelle BacheletGuest
Alexander HeffnerHostHow acutely are you concerned about the democratic backsliding in the United States?
Well, I'm acutely concerned about the democratic backsliding in many countries of the world, because we have seen it in Europe, we have seen it in this region, In other regions like Africa, it's a little bit different because in Latin America, we used to lose democracy with coup d'etat.
But now we have been seeing leaders who are elected and they start eroding democracy.
And a lot of people are really concerned about the backsliding because democracy is not perfect.
but it's the best possible regime because it has its own ways and its own
And I think the only way that you ensure human rights is with democracy and democracy with human rights.
If you have people's rights respected, people will feel comfortable, will feel safe, will feel that they want to protect democracy because that's the way everybody is having improvement of their lives.
So I believe that it's a real concerning moment in the history Some people say, I'm not sure, I wouldn't go that far.
But on the other hand, I have asked myself, what have we done wrong as Democrats in the world? Because why is people going into this? And I have some certain answers.
Leaders make promises, they are elected, and then don't deliver the promises they decide.
Well, sometimes you cannot because, for example, the economic situation doesn't permit, but then you have to speak to the people the truth.
But I think one thing the leaders, the democratic leaders, should always understand that they should never promise something they know they're not going to do.
You have to promise what you really believe in and what you are best to be able to fulfill it and to achieve what you want.
How acutely are you concerned about the democratic backsliding in the United States?
Well, I'm acutely concerned about the democratic backsliding in many countries of the world, because we have seen it in Europe, we have seen it in this region, In other regions like Africa, it's a little bit different because in Latin America, we used to lose democracy with coup d'etat.
But now we have been seeing leaders who are elected and they start eroding democracy.
And a lot of people are really concerned about the backsliding because democracy is not perfect.
but it's the best possible regime because it has its own ways and its own
And I think the only way that you ensure human rights is with democracy and democracy with human rights.
If you have people's rights respected, people will feel comfortable, will feel safe, will feel that they want to protect democracy because that's the way everybody is having improvement of their lives.
So I believe that it's a real concerning moment in the history Some people say, I'm not sure, I wouldn't go that far.
But on the other hand, I have asked myself, what have we done wrong as Democrats in the world? Because why is people going into this? And I have some certain answers.
Leaders make promises, they are elected, and then don't deliver the promises they decide.
Well, sometimes you cannot because, for example, the economic situation doesn't permit, but then you have to speak to the people the truth.
But I think one thing the leaders, the democratic leaders, should always understand that they should never promise something they know they're not going to do.
You have to promise what you really believe in and what you are best to be able to fulfill it and to achieve what you want.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
