Latin America Diplomacy: Lula's Reelection Halts Israel Shift
Luiz Inácio da Silva secured 51.79% of the vote to defeat Flavio Bolsonaro, reversing a regional trend of closer ties with Israel that had accelerated since 2023.
By Amanda Delgado ·
Regional diplomatic alignments in Latin America have shifted again as voters in Brazil returned Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva to the presidency. The reelection of the left-wing leader interrupts a recent trend of the region moving toward closer relationships with Israel.
Da Silva defeated center-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the final vote. The Workers Party candidate secured 51.79% of the valid votes, while Bolsonaro, representing the Liberal Party, received 48.21%. Bolsonaro stated that he did not accept the results, though the mechanism for a formal challenge remains unclear.
The outcome carries weight for Israel because of the candidates' differing diplomatic stances. Bolsonaro pledged a close partnership with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cultivated ties with the Israeli leadership. Da Silva has positioned himself as a critic of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. In January 2024, the Da Silva administration endorsed South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. In February 2024, Da Silva compared Palestinian suffering in Gaza to the Holocaust, a remark that triggered a diplomatic crisis. CONIB, Brazil's Jewish umbrella organization, condemned the comparison as a distortion that offended the memory of Holocaust victims.
Bolsonaro had outlined specific steps toward closer relations with Israel during a meeting with Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires on June 28, 2026. He promised that Brazil would appoint an ambassador to Israel and move its embassy to Jerusalem in 2027. He also praised the 120,000 Jews in Brazil, describing them as among the brightest professionals in medicine, industry, science, culture, and business.
The election result follows a first-round vote on Oct. 4 where Bolsonaro finished ahead of Da Silva. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message on X/Twitter the following day to congratulate Bolsonaro and express hope for restoring the friendship between the two nations.
Da Silva's victory stands in contrast to recent moves by other Latin American leaders. President Javier Milei of Argentina, elected in 2023, has made support for Israel central to his foreign policy. President Rodrigo Paz Pereira of Bolivia, elected in 2025, restored diplomatic relations that his predecessor had severed. President Nasry Asfura of Honduras, also elected in 2025, formally recognized Israel's new ambassador. President José Antonio Kast of Chile, elected in 2025, is rebuilding ties diminished by his predecessor. President Abelardo de la Espriella of Colombia, elected in May, restored severed diplomatic ties, sent his foreign minister to inaugurate an embassy in Jerusalem, and pulled out of the ICJ genocide case.
The reelection of Da Silva places a government with a history of critical diplomatic actions back in charge in South America's largest economy. The result modifies the diplomatic landscape for Israel in the region, where several neighbors had recently moved to strengthen their official ties.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
