President José Antonio Kast phoned Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to congratulate him on his victory in Brazil's presidential election. With this win, the leader of the Workers' Party reaches the country's presidency for the fourth time. Kast posted on X a photo of the call, which he made as soon as the results were known.
According to T13, the Chilean president wrote: "Chile and Brazil have a great deal of future in common". He also announced that he will continue to push a bilateral agenda focused on economic integration and the fight against organized crime in the region.
The government followed up the greeting with an official statement. It describes Brazil as "a strategic partner in the region" and notes that the two countries share 190 years of diplomatic ties. The text reaffirms the will to deepen political dialogue and cooperation.
The tone of the greeting carries weight given the ideological distance between the two leaders. Kast heads a right-wing government and Lula is the leading figure of the Latin American left. Even so, La Moneda (Chile's presidential palace) chose an institutional message and highlighted issues of common interest rather than political differences. Brazil is Chile's main economic partner in South America, which explains why the relationship gives priority to trade and security.
Former Chilean presidents also joined in. Gabriel Boric wrote on X: "Thank you, President Lula, for your commitment to humanity". Michelle Bachelet said on Instagram that the two have shared the conviction that politics must serve the people.
Across the region, greetings came from governments of different political stripes. Keiko Fujimori, president of Peru, recalled 200 years of relations with Brazil and called for strengthening the sustainable development of the shared Amazon. Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz stressed that both are "neighboring and brother countries".
Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum wrote "Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won". Paraguay's Santiago Peña underlined the shared integration agenda, while Uruguay's Yamandú Orsi said he personally called Lula, whom he described as "a friend".
From Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel spoke of a "historic victory". The Venezuelan government, headed by acting president Delcy Rodríguez, issued a statement expressing its will to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Messages were also sent by José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Bernardo Arévalo (Guatemala) and Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic).
Among former leaders, former Argentine president Cristina Fernández said Brazil experienced "a genuine electoral 17 de Octubre", a reference to the Peronist mobilization of 1945. Former Colombian president Gustavo Petro said that with this victory "fascism has been stopped in Latin America and in Brazil".
Lula, who according to Fernández was running in his seventh presidential election, will begin a new term with the explicit backing of almost every government in the region, including Chile's.
