Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured an unprecedented fourth term on Sunday, defeating Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a closely contested presidential runoff, according to the country's electoral authority.
With 97.69% of polling sections counted, Lula had received 51.74% of the vote, compared to 48.26% for Bolsonaro, giving the incumbent an advantage of approximately 4.2 million votes.
Brazil's election authority declared Lula the mathematically certain winner after determining that the remaining uncounted votes could no longer change the outcome.
The result marked a reversal from the first round of voting earlier this month, when Bolsonaro finished ahead of the incumbent president. Neither candidate received the more than 50% of votes necessary to secure an outright victory, forcing the election into a second round.
Beyond their competing visions for Brazil's domestic policies, the two candidates have expressed markedly different positions on Israel and its counterterrorism campaign against Hamas.
Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has consistently emphasized his support for Israel, following the approach adopted by his father during his political career.
During a visit to Israel in January, the senator visited the Western Wall and several locations in Judea and Samaria, while pledging to move Brazil's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem if elected president.
“It is an honor to defend Judeo-Christian values and to show the Jewish people that the Brazilian people support them," Bolsonaro said during the visit.
His father also maintained close ties with Israel, including a visit to the country in March 2019 while serving as president.
The Bolsonaro family's identification with Israel has extended beyond official diplomatic statements. Family members have previously appeared wearing clothing associated with the IDF and Mossad, while Israeli flags have frequently been displayed at political demonstrations supporting the former president.
Lula, meanwhile, has repeatedly drawn criticism from Israel over his statements concerning the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Brazilian president previously compared Israel's operations in Gaza to the Nazi persecution of Jews under Adolf Hitler during World War II, triggering a diplomatic dispute between Jerusalem and Brasília.
Amid the confrontation, Brazil announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Israel and summoning the Israeli ambassador for a reprimand.
Despite the diplomatic fallout, Lula continued to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
“What the Israeli government is doing is not war, it is genocide. Children and women are being murdered," he wrote on social media.