Varied reactions to Hamas attacks in LAC
Oct. 10, 2023
Many governments in Latin America and the Caribbean condemned the terrorist attacks against Israel this weekend — including Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. However, many also noted root causes underlying conflict between Israel and Palestinians and called for a two-state solution. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has criticized Israel’s response to the attacks. Chilean President Gabriel Boric criticized the terrorist attacks, but also attacks against civilians in Gaza. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales said defense of Israel is unacceptable.
Brazil
Brazil condemned the Hamas attacks, saying there is “no justification for resorting to violence, especially against civilians, and urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint.” Brazil holds the presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised on social media to “spare no efforts to prevent an escalation of the conflict.” (Reuters)
A statement from Brazil’s foreign ministry also reaffirmed a commitment to a "two-state solution," with Palestinians and Israelis coexisting within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders.
Analysts say the conflict will be a test for Lula’s goals of reforming the U.N. Security Council. A meeting on Sunday failed to agree on a statement condemning Hamas. (Al Jazeera, Globo)
The flag of Israel was laser projected over the building of Brazil’s National Congress on Sunday in solidarity with the Israeli victims. “The projection covered one of the two domes of the landmark building in Brasilia on Sunday, making the dome look somewhat like a big kippah,” reports the Times of Israel.
Mexico
Mexico condemned the attacks and called for negotiations towards a two-state solution to resume. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday said in a press conference that Mexico would not take sides in the conflict and the United Nations should convene all member countries to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict. (Reuters)
Argentina
Argentina's government has condemned the "the terrorist actions by Hamas against Israeli territory" and called for "an end to the violence and to guarantee the protection of the civilian population." President Alberto Fernández ordered that security for Jewish institutions in the country be upgraded and law enforcement agencies on the country’s borders be on alert. (Buenos Aires Times, Buenos Aires Herald)
El Salvador
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who has Palestinian ancestry, condemned Hamas’ attacks. “The best thing that could happen to the Palestinian people is for Hamas to completely disappear. Those savage beasts do not represent the Palestinians,” Bukele said on social media. He also compared Hamas to the violent street gangs in El Salvador, which his government has targeted with a state of emergency suspending civil rights. (Times of Israel)
Chile
Chilean President Gabriel Boric made a statement on social media two days after the attacks expressing solidarity “with the victims of violence, without distinction. … We condemn without any qualifications the brutal attacks, murders and kidnappings by Hamas. Nothing can justify them or relativize their most energetic rejection. We also condemn the indiscriminate attacks against civilians carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza and the decades-long illegal occupation of Palestinian territory in violation of international law.” (Ex Ante)
Israeli diplomats had earlier pushed back against Chile’s foreign minister’s condemnation of all attacks against civilians, perpetuated by “Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the State of Israel, and any other actor intervening in the conflict.” Government spokesperson Camila Vallejos later clarified that the government does not equate Hamas with Palestinian and Israeli governments. (Infobae)
Caricom
Caricom condemned the flare up of violence in the Middle East, saying it "abhors the attacks in Israel and the counter-attacks in the Palestinian territory of Gaza".
In a statement issued yesterday, Caricom said "the savage nature of the attacks and counter-attacks are the antithesis of civilised life and living. Innocent lives are being lost amidst the fervour and violence of the actual combatants.” The group voiced support for a two-state solution. (Jamaica Observer, Caribbean National Weekly)
Individual Caribbean nations took differing stances, Antigua and Barbuda condemned the terrorist assault, while Belize called for an end to Israeli apartheid. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness condemned Hamas’ attack “resulting in the deaths, injury and abduction of Israeli civilians.” (Loop News)
Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has not condemned Hamas’ attacks, and has tussled with Jewish leaders and Israel’s ambassador to Colombia on social media since Saturday — comparing Israel’s military response to the attacks to Nazism.
“Concentration camps are prohibited by international law and those who develop them become criminals against humanity,” he wrote in response to a video that shows Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talking about the situation in Gaza. (Times of Israel)
On Saturday, Colombia's foreign ministry issued a statement to "vehemently condemn the terrorism and attacks against civilians that have occurred in Israel" and expressing solidarity with the victims. But, the link to that statement has since been disabled, with a new statement of condemnation not making any mention of "terrorism." (AFP)
Bolivia
Bolivia’s Arce administration formally expressed concern and called for de-escalation of the conflict. But former president Evo Morales expressed solidarity with Palestine and criticized the government for its “partial” response to the situation, saying defense of Israel is unacceptable. (EFE, MercoPress)
Regional
Authorities are alert regarding potential terrorist activity in the Triple Frontier region between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
Kenyan court blocks Haiti deployment
Kenya’s highest court temporarily blocked the deployment of security forces to Haiti to lead a Multinational Security Support mission, until the tribunal can assess a claim that the mission violates Kenya’s constitution.
The court order issued yesterday is valid until Oct. 24 and followed a petition jointly filed by one of the opposition political parties and two Kenyans who say the decision to deploy the police officers outside the east African country is illegal.
Critics of Kenyan President William Ruto have questioned his willingness to lead an international force to Haiti while Kenya struggles with security issues arising from militant attacks and most recently ethnic clashes.
Opposition lawmakers in Kenya have also questioned why the plan was not brought to them before the U.N. authorized the mission.
(Miami Herald, Associated Press, Reuters)
Regional Relations
The Dominican Republic said it will reopen the border with Haiti for commerce — nearly a month after shutting down transit — but that Haitians will continue to be banned from entering the country “indefinitely,” reports the Miami Herald.
Costa Rica and Honduras imposed visa requirements for travelers from the other's country yesterday, with Costa Rica first implementing the measure citing security reasons. (Reuters)
Much has changed in Brazil under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — but the world has not fully taken notice, argues Richard Bourne in the Guardian. “While Brazilians worry about the (now gently recovering) economy, gun crime and the effort to undo regressive social policies, outsiders worry more about Brazil’s foreign policy.”
Mercosur’s fate appears perched on a razor’s edge, with a looming diplomatic deadline to finalize a long-delayed trade agreement with the EU. “Though Mercosur has been criticized as a weak integration tool, it’s a rare example of continuity across three decades of successive governments, ideological pendulum shifts, and economic crises in the region, maintaining relative support from both sides of the political spectrum … no mean feat in a region where politics is increasingly defined by polarization,” I write in an article for Americas Quarterly.
Regional
A new UN report calls on more countries to recognize the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on women and girls, and for more action. Rising temperatures have been linked to poorer maternal health and complications during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes. Extreme heat has been associated with triggering earlier deliveries and an increase in stillbirths, reports the Guardian.
Argentina
The main presidential candidates in Argentina share a fairly unnoticed political lineage that traces back to the free-market ideals of a 1980s political party the Unión de Centro Democrático, argues Álvaro Caso Bello in Americas Quarterly.
Peru
Peruvian police in Lima rescued more than 40 people from Malaysia who fell victim to a human trafficking syndicate operating a telecommunication fraud known as the “Macau scam,” reports the Guardian.
Archives
A long-lost Amazon documentary described as “the holy grail of Brazilian silent cinema” has been rediscovered nearly a century after it went missing.
Amazonas, Maior Rio do Mundo (Amazon: Longest River in the World)was stolen from the original director, Silvino Santos, shortly after it was made in 1918, reports the Guardian.