A bifurcation problem for the equation ∆u + λu − αu+ + βu− + g(λ,u)=0 in a bounded domain in N with mixed boundary conditions, given nonnegative functions α, β ∈ L∞ and a small perturbation g is considered. The existence of a global bifurcation between two given simple eigenvalues λ(1), λ(2) of the Laplacian is proved under some assumptions about the supports of the functions α, β. These assumptions are given by the character of the eigenfunctions of the Laplacian corresponding to λ(1), λ(2).