BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a leading candidate for the presidency of Brazil, said on Sunday that he hopes to celebrate his victory in this fall’s presidential elections in Jerusalem.
The unequivocal remarks by the conservative evangelical candidate, who has previously pledged to move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem next year if elected, highlight his faith-based support for the Jewish state, in keeping with the pro-Israel legacy of his father, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
The October elections in the largest South American country also come amid a wave of right-wing victories across the continent that is shifting alliances toward the United States and Israel.
“We love Israel and respect the Jewish people,” Bolsonaro told JNS on the sidelines of a conference of Latin American lawmakers meeting in Argentina. “I would like to celebrate my election in Jerusalem.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has been one of the most vociferous critics of Israel in South America, is an antisemite who does not represent the Brazilian people, said Bolsonaro.
Lula, 80, recalled his ambassador to Israel in 2024 in the wake of the war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and joined the International Court of Justice case against Israel. He is running for a fourth term in office.
“We don’t have an ambassador from Israel in Brazil, but we have an ambassador from Iran,” said Bolsonaro. “That shows you the priorities of this government.”
The 44-year-old senator, who credits his Christian faith for his strong connection to Israel, reiterated his pledge to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem within six months of a victory.
“I will do that,” he said. “I promised this to the prime minister.”
Bolsonaro also told the legislators at the faith-based Israel Allies Foundation Latin American Chairman’s Conference that as president he would bring Brazil into the Isaac Accords initiated by Argentinian President Javier Milei to bolster continental ties with the Jewish state.
About one-third of Brazil’s 213 million population is evangelical.
About 120,000 Jews live in Brazil.
‘Shield of the Americas’
The Brazilian senator, who has a good relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, said he would like to join the Shield of the Americas, a multinational military and political alliance launched by the American leader in March to combat criminal organizations and narco-terrorism, which the current Lula government has refused to join.
He noted that local and foreign intelligence have shown that militia factions in Brazil that deal in narco-terrorism have worked hand in hand with Hezbollah terrorists that carried out deadly attacks in neighboring Argentina in the 1990s, yet these same groups are still supported by the current government.
Now, with the fall showdown election against Lula, he sees a shift coming to Brazil amid a wave of conservative victories across the continent, including most recently in Colombia.
“For decades, we were a continent that was sinking,” Bolsonaro said in an address to Latin American lawmakers affiliated with the Israel Allies Foundation. “Today, right-wing governments control most of the continent.”
“We are the missing piece on the map,” he continued. “In October, this will change.”
