When Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on October 8 that Colombia would be moving its embassy to Jerusalem, he made sure to point out how important the development was for his country’s diplomatic narrative, and that it heralded warming relations with Latin American governments. Latin America’s relationship with Israel is shifting, as right-wing parties come into power in the region and pro-Israel politicians use their support for the country to rally voters. Brazil, the largest country in the region, is in the midst of a presidential election campaign in which the relationship with Israel has become a key talking point.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a left-wing ardent supporter of Palestine, is locked in a close contest with right-wing rival Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. He has sported Israeli flags at campaign rallies and played up his friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The pair are scheduled to take part in a run-off election after Bolsonaro performed surprisingly strongly in the first -round, apparently raising hopes for a detente with Israeli officials like the foreign minister.
Last month, for instance, Colombia and Israel began allowing their citizens to travel visa-free between their countries, yet another signal the newly inaugurated government of Abelardo de la Espriella wants to restore ties that were cut in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza. Experts say the realignment with Israel is driven, in part, by new leaders trying to signal they have joined a regional alignment with United States President Donald Trump. But it’s also being fuelled by a massive lobbying effort in which Evangelical Christian groups and Israeli-government-backed organisations in the region have pushed Latin American countries to support Israel.
He stopped exporting Colombian coal to Israel, cut military and security cooperation and planned to open a Colombian embassy to Palestine. The former left-wing fighter seemed to take every public opportunity to criticise Israel, even using a trip to New York City for a United Nations summit to take part in a protest against Trump and the war on Gaza. His successor, de la Espriella, has rapidly reversed Bogota’s stance on Israel since coming to power in August, announcing plans to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, re-appoint ambassadors and even recognising Israeli control over the occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights.
Strong presidential systems and weak, unprofessional diplomatic corps allow new heads of state to quickly pivot on issues such as ties with Israel, said Kuri. In 2023, Argentina elected right-wing populist Javier Milei as president, who pledged to move the embassy to Jerusalem, refused to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN and said he was “proud to be the most Zionist president in the world.” In Bolivia, the leftist administration of Evo Morales, who was president from 2006 to 2019, had refused to have full diplomatic ties with Israel. This continued under the presidency of Luis Arce, who joined other regional left-wing leaders in recalling their ambassadors from Israel after October 7, 2023.
When Arce was voted out last year, his replacement Rodrigo Paz promptly reversed that policy. Soon after coming to office this August, Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast undid his leftist predecessor’s actions against Israel as well, appointing an ambassador to Israel who describes himself as a “proud Zionist”. Over in Honduras, the left-wing government was replaced by a right-wing leader this January.
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