Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Argentina after Argentine President Javier Milei described Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as “the thief” and “the convict” during a political rally in São Paulo.
Milei made the remarks on Saturday while launching the presidential campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro, who is contesting Brazil’s October presidential election against Lula. Although he did not mention Lula by name, the comments referred to the time the Brazilian president spent in prison before his corruption convictions were annulled, allowing him to return to office in 2022.
Standing alongside Flávio Bolsonaro, Milei said the younger Bolsonaro was the only one who could “stop Lula”.
Milei, a political ally of Flávio Bolsonaro, also criticised Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, calling him “bald trash”, although he did not mention him by name.
Moraes presided over the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to Lula. Bolsonaro is under house arrest and has endorsed his son, Flávio, as the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate because he is barred from contesting the election.
Brazilian diplomats condemned Milei’s comments. One diplomatic source told AFP that Milei had “insulted two branches of government, the Brazilian people and Brazilian democracy”.
Lula did not directly respond to Milei’s speech during an event on Sunday but said, “in Brazil, we do not accept anyone sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong”.
The dispute marks another setback in relations between Argentina and Brazil, despite the neighbouring countries remaining each other’s biggest trading partners.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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