The anti-Israeli mood in Latin America was reflected in the opening of the General Debate of the 80th UN General Assembly last week. There the Colombian and Brazilian presidents unequivocally condemned Israel’s conduct and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian cause, stressing that Palestine and the region will only attain peace and freedom through an end to the illegal Israeli occupation.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” President Lula da Silva said. “There, under tonnes of rubble, are buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children. International Humanitarian Law and the myth of the ethical exceptionalism of the West are also buried there. This massacre would not have happened without the complicity of those who could have prevented it.”
Da Silva’s Colombian counterpart, President Gustavo Petro, was even more outspoken. Stressing that what is unfolding in Gaza can only be termed a genocide, he said, “Humanity… cannot allow another day of genocide, nor can it let Netanyahu and his allies in the United States and Europe get away with it.” Referring to the need to invoke the Uniting for Peace Resolution, he called for an international armed force “to defend the lives of the Palestinian people,” one drawn from “countries that do not accept genocide.”
While in New York, President Petro also took part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration promptly revoked his visa.
Several Latin American countries have formally cut ties with Israel or recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv in response to the genocide, and others are strongly considering such steps. Many have lodged official protests at the UN or through other diplomatic channels.
On 19 September, Brazil officially filed a declaration of intervention, joining South Africa in its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It has thus added its name to Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, and Cuba, which have already filed interventions since the ICJ proceedings began. Additionally, Nicaragua initiated an ICJ case against Germany for breaches of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, which prohibits complicity in genocide.
Meanwhile, mass demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian people have swept Latin American capitals with increasing frequency. Just recently, while international delegations met at the UN, in the Colombian capital, demonstrators waving Palestinian flags marched towards the symbolic Bolivar Square, demanding action to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza. Likewise, in Lima, Peru, solidarity vigils and marches called for an immediate halt to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza City. In Mexico City, a large march against the Gaza genocide culminated at the Benito Juárez Hemicycle, which has become a hub for Palestine solidarity.
The march was organised by a coalition of 300 trade unions and Palestinian solidarity organisations. They called on the Mexican government to sever relations with Israel and to “end the criminal blockade of food, water, and medicine carried out by the occupying forces, using hunger as a weapon of war.”
Trade unions elsewhere across Latin America have voiced solidarity with the Palestinians and condemned Israel’s military aggression and starvation blockade against Gaza, with some describing it as a manifestation of a racist ideology.
In Buenos Aires, a call for action against the Israeli bombardment and starvation of Gaza launched by the Argentine Committee for Solidarity with the Palestinian People was joined by the Trade Union Front for Sovereignty, Dignified Work, and Fair Wages, which represents a broad coalition of trade unions and workers’ organisations.
In the same spirit, on 20 September, over a thousand protesters carrying placards saying “Stop the bombing! Stop the genocide!” marched through the streets of the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.
Despite the economic and strategic interests that bind Latin American countries and the United States – and, in several cases, Israel – vehement condemnations of Israeli actions have continued. Almost every country has, at the very least, expressed “deep concern” over the violence Israel has unleashed against Gaza. But some have gone further, expressing sympathy or understanding for the resistance against the backdrop of conditions in Palestine. Bolivia has condemned the “massacres” in Gaza and expressed support for the Palestinians’ struggle to regain their land. Many other countries have repeatedly issued statements in solidarity with the Palestinian cause since Israel launched its war to annihilate Gaza two years ago.
To a considerable extent, Latin American stances in support of the Palestinian cause stem from their opposition to US foreign policy in Latin America. The US has a long history of meddling in Latin America’s domestic affairs – often through covert operations aimed at supporting military coups or far-right movements seeking to overthrow left-wing governments deemed unfavourable to American interests. Many are seeing Washington’s support for Israel through this lens and, moreover, directly linking the need to defend Palestine with the need to defend Latin America from US domination. Indeed, President Petro made the link explicit when he referred to the US’ recent attacks on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean, killing everyone on board.
Latin American societies, with their history of successive civil wars, coups, and colonialism, tend to lean left and in support of humanitarian causes and liberation movements like the Palestinian struggle. In such countries as Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, which have long had adversarial relations with Washington, such sentiments run deep. But they also extend to other Latin American countries with strong and dynamic syndicate movements, which link action in defence of Palestinians to their own struggles against oppression.
At the same time, Latin America is home to large Arab and Muslim communities. Chile, for example, has around 500,000 citizens of Palestinian origin. Some of its streets have Palestinian names and it boasts a professional football team called Palestine, which sports the colours of the Palestinian flag. Many Palestinians in Chile are influential figures, some holding government and municipal posts. Similarly, Brazil has large Arab and Muslim communities. Overall, an estimated 25 million people in Latin America are of Arab origin, including 12 million in Brazil (mostly of Lebanese and Syrian descent) and 3.5 million in Argentina.
The stances of Latin American countries cast into relief the deterioration in Israel’s international image and the limits of its expansionist settler-colonial ideology. These are among the nations that have been most vociferous in defence of Palestinian rights in UN forums. The majority of Latin American countries have consistently voted in support of UN resolutions in favour of Palestine. Collectively, they lead the Global South in increasing Israel’s international isolation and exposing the complicity of the US and other Western powers in the genocide.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 October, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: