Pro-Israel, right-wing Brazilian congressman Jair Bolsonaro will be his country’s next president, after winning the national election on Sunday.
With more than 92 percent of the votes counted, Bolsonaro came out with 55.6 percent, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
Bolsonaro’s home in Rio de Janeiro was flooded with supporters following the announcement, who waved Brazilian flags and set off fireworks.
The candidate ran on a platform of bolstering the economy, reducing national violence and cleaning up corruption in the government, which had caused a scandal at the end of the 16-year reign of the Workers’ Party, Bolsonaro’s primary opposing party.
Bolsonaro’s opponents have expressed concern that the new president held negative beliefs about women and homosexuals.
He has stated that he will move Brazil’s Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declared that his first international trip as president will be to Israel. He also said he would be closing the Palestinian Authority’s Brazilian embassy.
