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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro on the phone Monday and congratulated him on winning the election.
“I am confident that your election will lead to a great friendship between the two peoples and to the strengthening of ties between Brazil and Israel,” Netanyahu told Bolsonaro, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office. “We await your visit to Israel,” Netanyahu added.
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Earlier, a senior diplomatic source said that as far as Israel is concerned, “Brazil will now be colored in blue and white,” referring to the colors of the Israeli flag.
Far-right politician Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest democracy, on Monday. The former army captain won garnered 55.7 percent of the vote.
In some of his first words to the nation as president-elect, Bolsonaro promised to defend the constitution and unite a bitterly divided populace.
In August, Bolsonaro announced that, if elected, he will close the Palestinian embbady in Brasilia in addition to moving his country’s embbady from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Bolsonaro is a strong admirer and supporter of Israel.
Like other right-leaning leaders who have risen to power around the globe, Bolsonaro built his popularity on a mixture of tough talk and hardline positions. And, like many, he is sure to face stiff pushback from groups concerned that his strong views will lead to policies that threaten democratic institutions.
Bolsonaro spent much of the campaign exploiting divisions, taking to Twitter to lambaste the rival Workers’ Party as unethical and dangerous. In recent weeks, Brazilians were bombarded with WhatsApp messages that condemned Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad, often making outrageous claims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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