Brazil Summons Argentine Ambassador After Milei Insults Lula da Silva

The Brazilian government summoned the Argentine Ambassador on Sunday, following an incident of ‘insults’ hurled by President Javier Milei against Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several of the country’s senior officials. The move came after Brazil’s Foreign Ministry first recalled its Ambassador to Argentina, Julio Bitelli, to Brasilia for consultations. The diplomatic tension was triggered by Milei’s remarks at a political event in Sao Paulo on Saturday, which launched the candidacy of right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro. In his speech, the Argentine libertarian leader referred to President Lula da Silva as a ‘prisoner’ and a ‘thief’, though without mentioning him by name explicitly. Besides targeting Lula, Milei also attacked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, calling him ‘bald rubbish’. ‘He [Milei] has insulted two branches of government, the Brazilian people, and Brazilian democracy,’ a Brazilian diplomatic source told AFP. In his speech in Brazil, Milei also warned of the danger of what he called the ‘Lula risk’ and urged Brazilians to free themselves from ‘subjugation by the left.’ He also accused Justice Moraes of preventing him from visiting his friend, former President Jair Bolsonaro, father of Flavio Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest related to an alleged 2022 coup conspiracy. Responding to Brazil’s recall of its ambassador, Milei instead levelled new accusations during an interview with Radio Mitre Argentina on Sunday evening. He claimed his country was the target of a negative ‘campaign’ funded by Brazil, Mexico, and the United States Democratic Party. ‘They are the progressive leaders who do not want the ideas of freedom to succeed,’ Milei said. However, Milei provided no concrete evidence regarding the alleged negative campaign or its funding. His statement appeared partly to reference criticism directed at the Argentine national football team following their 0-1 defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, which was marred by an on-field brawl.