The government of Javier Milei will not apologize to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and is preparing a summit of right-wing presidents in Buenos Aires. This comes hours after Brazil decided to downgrade bilateral relations to the level of chargé d’affaires. The Argentine president’s administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made it clear that there will be no apology after a series of insults by President Milei against Lula da Silva, which led to an unprecedented diplomatic rift.
The Argentine Presidential Administration (Casa Rosada) and the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to double down, confirming plans to organize a summit of regional right-wing presidents in Buenos Aires, although the exact date has not yet been determined. “There have been statements from both sides that clearly demonstrate these political and ideological differences. Argentina has decided not to transfer them to the diplomatic sphere; unfortunately, Brazil has every right to decide what it has decided. We regret this because we understand that there is another way to maintain relations between our countries,” said Foreign Minister Pablo Kirno today. He called a press conference at Balcarce 50 to provide details of the confirmed visit of Pope Leon XIV to the country on November 8.
Diplomatic rift and Argentina’s response
Without directly answering questions about a possible apology to ease tensions with the main trading partner, Minister Kirno emphasized that Milei’s insults against Lula da Silva (“thief,” “corrupt,” and “imprisoned”) had their counterpart in “members of the Brazilian government who also insulted the president.” In response to Lula da Silva’s criticism, who a few days ago spoke of “interference” by Milei in Brazil’s internal affairs, Kirno calmly reminded that “Lula himself visited President Cristina Kirchner under her house arrest, and there were no complaints of interference then.”
The night before, as reported by LA NACION, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira handed the Argentine ambassador Daniel Raimondi an official protest over Milei’s insults against Lula da Silva. This included the decision to downgrade relations with Argentina to the level of chargé d’affaires for the first time in a decade and indefinitely postpone the return of Ambassador Julio Bitelli to Buenos Aires. Around 11:00 PM, the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs published an official response, in which it “expressed regret” over Brazil’s decision “to continue isolating itself from the rest of the region for purely ideological reasons.” It called the decision “unilateral” and noted that the Brazilian Itamaraty “requested the return” of the Argentine ambassador to Argentina. From Brasília, it was reported that the downgrading of bilateral relations “logically entails” Raimondi’s return, although they assured that the diplomat “had no relation to the repeated aggressions that led to this decision.” Ambassador Raimondi declined to respond to a request from LA NACION; his return to the country could take place in the coming days.
Ideological differences and regional plans
“The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned our Argentine ambassador in Brazil, where it determined that relations are at the level of chargé d’affaires and also asked our ambassador to leave Brazil. This is a unilateral decision by Brazil, which we regret,” Kirno confirmed today at the press conference. The Brazilian president’s outrage intensified after Milei’s last three media appearances, in which he repeated that he considers Lula a “thief” and “imprisoned.” He explained on LN+, Mitre radio, and in an interview on the La Casa stream that his words were based on the fact that Lula’s conviction was annulled due to an “administrative error” by the Brazilian justice system, without proving the innocence of the Brazilian leader. “I have terrible manners, but I tell the truth,” the Argentine president justified.
Without hints, Milei stated that he hopes “Brazil will also turn blue,” hinting at a possible victory by opposition candidate Flavio Bolsonaro in the presidential elections in October, as, according to him, “getting rid of the corrupt and thieves is always good, getting rid of the left is always good.” Milei’s participation in the Liberal Party meeting in São Paulo, which nominated Bolsonaro as a presidential candidate in the October 4 elections, was the spark that ignited the recent dispute between the two presidents, with Lula da Silva fighting for re-election and the Argentine government supporting his main opponent.
In his responses to the press, Kirno took the opportunity to state that Lula da Silva “has conflicts with Paraguay and other countries.” He also recalled an old grievance with his MERCOSUR partner, stating that “we were informed five days after Nicolás Maduro was removed from power in Venezuela that Brazil was ending our representation in Venezuela, when Argentina had citizens whose lives were at risk.” Kirno acknowledged that Brazil’s decision was made after Milei himself posted a photo of Lula and the former Chavista president on his social media. “The region is changing its ideological direction. We celebrate this and hope it also happens in Brazil,” Kirno said shortly before confirming that the government is working on organizing a summit of right-wing leaders in Buenos Aires, possibly after the next president of Brazil is determined. “This leadership (Milei’s) results in us having a group of a dozen countries today that agree with these ideas and in which we constantly support each other. This will likely lead to an invitation for President Milei to hold a meeting in Buenos Aires as soon as schedules allow,” Kirno added. However, many of the leaders who will be invited intend not to feud with the president of Brazil, which is the head of the region’s main economy.
