Lula's Brazil win halts Latin America's pro-Israel shift
Brazilian voters reelected Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva as president, defeating center-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro with 51.79% of valid votes, halting a regional trend toward closer ties with Israel. Bolsonaro, who pledged a diplomatic partnership with Israel, did not accept the results. Lula has criticized Israel's military campaign in Gaza, endorsed South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in January 2024, and compared Palestinian suffering to Hitler's murder of Jews, sparking a diplomatic crisis. Bolsonaro had promised to move Brazil's embassy to Jerusalem and lauded Brazilian Jews as "among the brightest." Since 2023, several Latin American leaders, including Argentina's Javier Milei, Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Honduras' Nasry Asfura, Chile's José Antonio Kast, and Colombia's Abelardo de la Espriella, have strengthened ties with Israel, reversing predecessor policies.