chargement...
Algeria and the Polisario Front are stepping up their diplomatic activity in South America, with Algiers targeting countries in the region that have yet to recognize the so-called «Sahrawi Republic». This week, the Secretary-General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Brazil and Chile, highlighting this strategic push.
On Tuesday in Brasília, Lounès Magramane co-chaired the 6th session of political consultations between Algeria and Brazil alongside his Brazilian counterpart, Laura da Rocha. In addition to bilateral ties, Magramane raised the issue of Western Sahara, according to a statement from the ministry headed by Ahmed Attaf.
The same topic dominated his visit to Santiago, where he met yesterday with Chilean Deputy Foreign Minister Gloria de la Fuente.
Brazil and Chile are among the few countries in the region that have never recognized the «republic» self-proclaimed by the Polisario in 1976. Nevertheless, several political parties, often left-wing or far-left, represented in the parliaments of both nations have repeatedly called for recognition. So far, those appeals have been ignored by the two countries’ leftist presidents: Brazil’s Lula da Silva and Chile’s Gabriel Boric.
«We have tried to establish direct contact with Lula, but we haven’t yet received a response. We are in discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have met with members of the Africa division, but they appear to have no decision-making power. Everyone says it’s Lula who decides», lamented Ahmed Moulay Ali Hamadi, the Polisario representative in Brasília, in comments to a Brazilian media outlet last May.
While Algiers focuses on Brazil and Chile, the Polisario is directing its efforts toward Colombia, which reinstated its recognition of the «Sahrawi Republic» in August 2022. Yesterday in Bogotá, President Gustavo Petro met with a Polisario representative, following a visit last July by the Secretary-General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The year 2024 saw Ecuador and Panama suspend their recognition of the «SADR». In September 2025, Paraguay, which had already withdrawn recognition in 2014, formally recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara. Bolivia may follow suit, especially after the October 19 election of Rodrigo Paz, a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Party, as president. The new head of state took office on November 8, vowing to break with two decades of socialism in the country.
