Lula's Victory Halts Regional Pro-Israel Shift
The Workers Party leader defeats Flavio Bolsonaro, reversing a diplomatic trend toward closer ties with Jerusalem across Latin America.
By Amelia Gupta ·
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a second term as president of Brazil, stopping a regional momentum toward stronger alliances with Israel.
Lula, the leader of the left-wing Workers Party, won 51.79% of the valid votes. His opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party, received 48.21%. Bolsonaro has stated he does not accept the results, although the mechanism for a formal challenge remains unclear. The outcome matters because the two candidates hold opposing views on the Israel-Gaza conflict. Bolsonaro, who had promised a close diplomatic partnership with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, positioned himself as a bridge to Jerusalem. Lula, by contrast, has become a vocal critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
The diplomatic rift between Lula and Israel deepened in early 2024. In January, the Brazilian government endorsed South Africa's decision to bring a genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice. In February, Lula compared the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza to Hitler's murder of the Jews. This comparison triggered a diplomatic crisis. CONIB, Brazil's Jewish umbrella organization, publicly condemned the remark as a distortion that offended Holocaust memory. The Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires also criticized the analogy.
Bolsonaro had outlined a specific plan for Brazilian-Jewish relations during a meeting with Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires on June 28, 2026. He promised that in 2027, Brazil would not only appoint an ambassador to Israel but also move its embassy to Jerusalem. During that same event, Bolsonaro praised the 120,000 Jews in Brazil. He described them as men and women who rank among the brightest in Brazilian medicine, industry, science, culture, and business.
The election results follow a series of shifts across Latin America. Since 2023, several nations have strengthened ties with Israel, often reversing policies of their predecessors. Argentine President Javier Milei, elected in 2023, places support for Israel at the center of his foreign policy. Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 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. Chilean President José Antonio Kast, elected in 2025, is working to rebuild ties that had diminished. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, elected in May, restored severed diplomatic ties, sent his foreign minister to inaugurate an embassy in Jerusalem, and withdrew from the ICJ genocide case.
After Flavio Bolsonaro finished ahead of Lula in the first round on October 4, Netanyahu sent a message on X. He congratulated Bolsonaro on the vote and said he looked forward to restoring the extraordinary friendship between Israel and Brazil. Netanyahu described Bolsonaro as a friend and wished him a great victory in the final.
