Mexico, Colombia and Brazil issue joint call for Iran war ceasefire — Latin America's largest leftist bloc acts

Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil issued a joint statement on Friday calling for a pause in the war in Iran and diplomatic negotiations, Bloomberg reported citing the coordinated appeal published March 13 at 6:31 PM UTC. The three nations — led respectively by Presidents Claudia Sheinbaum, Gustavo Petro, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — represent Latin America's largest leftist bloc and collectively account for the majority of the region's economic weight. The joint statement is significant as the first coordinated Global South diplomatic initiative specifically targeting the Iran conflict. Previous ceasefire calls have come from individual states or the UN Secretary-General. A joint statement from three major economies with combined populations exceeding 300 million carries greater diplomatic weight and signals that the war's economic impacts — particularly oil price shock — are being felt globally, not just regionally. Brazil under Lula has been particularly vocal on international conflicts, having previously offered mediation in the Russia-Ukraine war. Colombia's Petro has maintained close ties with progressive movements globally. Mexico's Sheinbaum has continued AMLO-era skepticism of US military interventionism. The oil price dimension is likely central to their calculation: oil above $100/bbl and US gasoline at $3.68/gallon has significant downstream effects on Latin American economies, particularly those that import fuel. Brazil's position is complex as a major oil producer that could benefit from higher prices but faces domestic inflationary pressure from energy costs.