(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he intends to designate Hezbollah a terrorist group, a move that would follow on the footsteps of other South American nations.
In comments to reporters in Brasilia, Bolsonaro compared Hezbollah to Brazil's landless workers movement that he has repeatedly called a terrorist group. Despite his rhetoric, the move would require changes to Brazil's narrow anti-terror legislation, and possibly congressional support.
Brazil's new classification of Hezbollah would be part of Bolsonaro's efforts to align his government with that of U.S. President Donald Trump. The risk is that doing so could strain relations with Iran, a Hezbollah ally which imports $2.5 billion of Brazilian products per year. A weak domestic economy increases pressure to refrain from any decision that undermines exports.
Brazilian officials are already reviewing options to move forward with the designation, which is being discussed at the highest levels of government but doesn't have across-the-board support, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
To read more: Brazil Mulls Labeling Hezbollah Terrorists in Pivot to U.S.
Hezbollah, or the party of God in Arabic, is at the same time an armed group, a political party and a social organization. It sits in the Lebanese cabinet and has considerable geopolitical power. It is considered a terrorist group by many countries, including the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Last month, Argentina became the first Latin American nation to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. On Monday, Paraguay announced its decision to follow suit.
--With assistance from David Biller.
To contact the reporters on this story: Flavia Said in Brasilia at fsaid7@bloomberg.net;Samy Adghirni in Brasilia Newsroom at sadghirni@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Matthew Malinowski, Walter Brandimarte
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