Israel’s Netanyahu endorses Bolsonaro in Brazil elections
'I wish you all the best, and I thank you again for your wonderful friendship,' Netanyahu says to Bolsanaro
Israel’s Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu wished far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro good luck in a video on Sunday, as 156 million Brazilian voters are expected to go to the polls for a high-tension presidential election.
Brazilians are voting on Sunday in the first round of their country's most polarized election in decades, with leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva favored to beat right-wing incumbent Bolsonaro.
In the video, Netanyahu said, "Thank you, President Bolsonaro, for your leadership and for strengthening the relationship between the Brazilian people and the people of Israel. Under your leadership, the ties between our two countries have never been stronger, and they have only grown stronger in recent months.
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“You have visited Israel twice, and I have visited once, and we have seen the bonds of friendship and sympathy between our citizens,” he continued. “I wish you all the best, and I thank you again for your wonderful friendship.”
Most polls have shown Lula with a solid lead for months, but Bolsonaro signaled he might refuse to accept defeat, stoking fears of institutional crisis or post-election violence.
The opinion surveys have Lula, president from 2003 to 2010, up by 10-15 percentage points. If he wins more than 50 percent of valid votes, which several pollsters show within reach, that would clinch an outright victory, foregoing a second-round vote.
Last month, a festival was held in Tel Aviv in honor of Brazil to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the country's independence and its strong cultural ties with the Jewish state.