What Stands in the Way of Closer Ties between Brazil and Israel?

Jair Bolsonaro’s unexpected election to the Brazilian presidency in 2018 appeared to herald a major reorientation of the country’s foreign policy. A self-styled nationalist inspired by Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has associated himself with the American president’s former advisor Steve Bannon, the philosopher Olavo de Carvalho, and the political scientist Filipe Martins (currently a counselor to the Brazilian president on international relations)—all of whom see Israel as a model of successful nationalism. To them, the Jewish state is to be emulated for standing up to the “globalism” and “imperialism” of the United Nations and other international institutions which they see as engaged in the destruction of the Judeo-Christian roots of Western civilization. In parallel, pundits and professors have lumped together Bolsonaro, Trump, and Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a disparate group of other leaders, as examples of the supposed rise of right-wing populists.

Such comparisons obscure more than they reveal. Nevertheless, Bolsonaro has, in practical terms, cultivated friendly relations with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, breaking with his country’s longstanding coolness toward the Jewish state. In this he may be motivated less by anti-globalist ideology than by the growing electoral strength of the traditionally Catholic country’s evangelical Christians. Brazil is home to some 40 million evangelicals, approximately 20 percent of the overall population. Bolsonaro owes his election in no small part to their support. To win them over, he has made the promotion of traditional values—such as the defense of the family and the legal restriction of abortion—key parts of his platform. And he has embraced something that heretofore has had little purchase on the Brazilian right: Christian Zionism.

Appealing to what seems to be very real pro-Israel sentiment among his evangelical supporters, Bolsonaro promised in 2018 that relocating his country’s embassy to Jerusalem would be a high priority. Yet two years later the embassy has not been moved, although five bilateral agreements have been signed between Brazil and Israel, establishing cooperation in national defense, cybersecurity, science, technology, and other important areas.