Why does Petro break relations with Israel?
Before the crowd gathered for May 1 in the Plaza Bolívar in Bogotá, Gustavo Petro made a surprising announcement: “Here before you, the Government of change, the president of the republic, informs that tomorrow diplomatic relations will be broken with the State of Israel (…) for having a Government, for having a genocidal president,” said the president. The chancellor of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo, acknowledged a day later that the decision had been under study for some time.
Petro is going through a low moment of popularity, after the massive protests against his Government on April 21. His government has been suffering severe setbacks for months and the dialogue with the ELN is stalled. “He saw a Plaza Bolívar full of people, and Gustavo Petro is a very emotional person, he makes decisions with his gut,” Tania Rodríguez, doctor in Peace, Conflict and Democracy, and professor at the University of Sofia, told DW. .
What reading can be done in terms of Colombian internal politics?
Petro’s hostilities intensified after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, which generated reactions from the Netanyahu government, which decided to suspend “security exports” to Colombia.
For the expert, the Colombian president’s attitude goes beyond legitimate criticism of the Israeli Government’s policy: “When Petro uses the rhetoric of calling Israelis Nazis and genocidal, he is crossing borders; there we are talking about hatred of State of Israel. It has an anti-Semitic connotation.”
“The issue of Israel is not something that is going to give it many points in its popularity,” Marcos Peckel, director of the Confederation of Jewish Communities of Colombia, tells DW. “On the contrary, relations with Israel are appreciated here in Colombia by leftist groups.” Furthermore, Peckel highlights that, with this decision, “Colombia marginalizes itself from the possibility of having communication with the Government of Israel in the case of the main issue on Petro’s agenda, which is peace.”
For Manuel Rayran Cortés, a professor who is an expert in international relations at the Externado University of Colombia, the issue will contribute to “heating up the polarization” that exists in the country, with strong criticism from the opposition of Petro’s decision.
How is Colombia situated on the issue of Israel internationally?
According to the analysis of Rayran Cortés, “Colombia, with this decision, progressively joins the countries of the Global South in taking actions, more than diplomatic speeches, to generate pressure on Israel. This position is articulated with what South Africa did before the ICJ.”
Colombia becomes the first Latin American country to break relations with Israel. On October 31, 2023, Bolivia broke off relations that it did not actually have, since they had been dissolved since the time of Evo Morales.
“The left-wing presidents of the region have been much more cautious: Boric, Lula, AMLO, consider that breaking relations takes away the possibility of having a channel of communication with the State of Israel,” highlights Marcos Peckel. He adds that, after calling to his ambassador for consultations, “it was not necessary to break relations.”
On the other hand, we will have to see how the United States reacts, with strong support from Israel which, at the same time, has Colombia as an ally on key issues such as the fight against drugs, migration and Venezuela.
What is the Colombia-Israel relationship like?
Military cooperation is one of the key factors in the relationship between Colombia and Israel. Their respective armies have jointly carried out training exercises to reinforce combat and anti-terrorism techniques. In addition, Colombia has purchased an important part of war material from Israel’s military industry to equip its military forces.
On the other hand, “Colombia has acquired the license to produce Israeli weapons for sale in Latin America,” Rayran Cortés tells DW. He warns that it is not yet known to what extent the break in relations will materialize and if it will have an impact on military collaboration or on the free trade agreement that both countries maintain. The teacher explains that Israel is not a major foreign direct investor in the country, and that Colombia exports more to Israel than it imports.
In the absence of greater detail on the practical effects of breaking diplomatic relations with Israel, Marcos Peckel highlights that the Foreign Ministry’s statement “maintains the possibility of maintaining consular relations to serve the thousands of Colombians who live in Israel and the Israelis who They live in Colombia.” But, for the Jewish community in Colombia, not having the Israeli embassy represents “an enormous sadness, a feeling of anxiety, of uncertainty, of not having someone who is part of the Jewish identity today, who is. the State of Israel.”
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