In 2008, analysts viewed the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States as a sign of the US entering a "post-racial" era, after centuries of dealing with slavery and anti-black laws and discrimination. In 2006, Bolivia, one of the world's only indigenous-plurality countries, elected Evo Morales, an Aymara coca grower as president, spurring talk of a "second founding" for indigenous rights in Bolivia in Latin America.
Video: Celebrations following Mexico's elections / Reuters
Now that Mexico has just elected a Jewish president, technocrat, scientist, and former mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, will her election help address the antisemitism problem in the country and the region?
Latin America is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, including nearly 60,000 in Mexico alone (out of 130 million people).
Though Sheinbaum identifies as a secular Jew like most Mexican Jews, her election could mean a lot for the future of Jews within Latin America. To understand the significance of Sheinbaum's election, we must first look at the scale of antisemitism facing Latin America.
Sheinbaum's ancestry has been attacked, claiming she has dual allegiance and that she may not be Mexican. Antisemitic attacks in Mexico have risen significantly since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.
Vicente Fox, Mexico's former president, accused Sheinbaum, the daughter of Jewish parents, of being "a Jew and foreigner at the same time," reposting a meme that called Sheinbaum a "Bulgarian Jew."
Getty ImagesClaudia Sheinbaum waves at supporters, June 3, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico (Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the outgoing Mexican president, has made comparisons between Israel and the Nazis, even accusing Jewish members of the Mexican opposition of supporting "Hitlerism." AMLO, as he is more commonly known, had even floated the idea of cutting diplomatic ties with Israel altogether, an idea that Bolivia, Chile, and Honduras and Colombia followed through on.
In Mexico, José Vasconselos, one of the founding philosophers of modern Mexico and leaders of the "cosmic race" movement, held deeply antisemitic views. In an op-ed from December by Francisco Ruiz Quirrín, a columnist for the ultra-conservative weekly Primera Plana, he warned, in connection with a Sheinbaum victory, that "the Jewish community is willing to exert whatever pressure is necessary to influence one of its own over any political commitment."
Deeply held public antisemitism is not a unique feature of Mexican politics and society, but of Latin America altogether.
In recent events across Latin America, antisemitism has manifested in various disturbing ways. In Peru, right-wing extremists targeted a prominent Jewish journalist by shouting antisemitic slurs outside his home and displaying posters depicting rats with bags of money. Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated and vandalized.
Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, who professes support for Jewish people and Israel, appointed Rodolfo Barra as the lead prosecutor. Barra was previously a member of a right-wing group responsible for numerous antisemitic acts, including attacks on synagogues, a violent riot in a Jewish neighborhood, and the murder of a Jewish lawyer. Despite his history, he will now oversee the prosecution of antisemitism in Argentina.
APSupporters of ruling party presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum celebrate at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, June 3, 2024 (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)Political leaders across nearly all Latin American countries perpetuate myths about Jewish control over the media, politics, and the economy. Among the supporters of these antisemitic narratives are José Antonio Kast, the son of a Nazi SS lieutenant and a leading candidate in Chile's presidential race, and Daniel Jadue, the mayor of Recoleta with ties to the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Additionally, several politicians and groups linked to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro have propagated antisemitic conspiracies and adopted neo-Nazi symbols.
Historically, this pervasive antisemitism has often escalated to violence. In 1992, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad bombed the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, followed by the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish community center in 1994, resulting in 114 deaths. In 2009, armed vandals attacked Venezuela's oldest synagogue as a protest against Israel, with the Chávez government swiftly expressing support for the attackers rather than protecting its Jewish citizens.
Iran plays a significant role in supporting antisemitic activities in the region, regularly funding operations against Jewish communities. Over the past five years, Iran has signed multiple security agreements with Latin American governments and supports terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, in attacking Jews and Israelis in Latin America. As a result, Israeli diplomats and intelligence operatives in the region frequently face dangerous and sometimes lethal assaults.
Following the October 7th attacks, antisemitic rhetoric intensified. Colombian President Gustavo Petro likened Israel's treatment of Gaza to the Nazis' actions in the Warsaw Ghetto. Brazil's President Lula compared Israeli policies towards Palestine to a "new Holocaust," claiming Israelis are the new Nazis. Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya declared that anyone supporting Israel is not human. Additionally, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro regularly broadcasts dehumanizing rants against Jews and Zionists on national television.
Commonly held antisemitic and ignorant tropes about Jews are also a problem.
Recent polling conducted in Uruguay, Mexico, and other Latin American countries tells us that Jews are seeing a rise in overt antisemitism from their communities and that antisemitic beliefs are commonly held. Conspiracy theories about Jewish global domination or Jewish plots for war are also frequently held by regular people. As a result, an overwhelming majority of Jews in Latin America are fearful for their lives. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 24 percent of Mexicans openly discriminate against Jews or hold antisemitic beliefs, with an average of 33% for all of Latin America.
Hopefully, Sheinbaum can help educate Mexicans and Latin Americans about Jewish life and culture and make antisemitism more socially unacceptable. Sheinbaum could also use her new platform to elevate Jewish voices, educate the public (and leaders), and tackle antisemitism head-on.
That power, however, remains in her hands.
Joseph Bouchard is a freelance journalist and analyst covering geopolitics in the Americas, with reporting experience in Bolivia, Colombia, and Brazil. His articles have appeared in The Diplomat, Mongabay, Le Devoir, La Razón, The Jerusalem Post, and Brazilian Report.
