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Milei vs Brazil
Argentine President Javier Milei sparked a diplomatic crisis with Brazil after scathing remarks during a São Paulo event that formally endorsed Senator Flávio Bolsonaro as a presidential candidate, prompting Brasília to recall Ambassador Julio Bitelli for consultations on Sunday.
“Diplomatically, relations between Brasília and Buenos Aires have broken down”
Brazilian officials said Milei targeted President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with insults including calling him a “thief” and a “criminal,” and he also attacked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes by calling him “trash.”
The dispute escalated further as Milei also accused Mexico and the United States’ Democratic Party of designing and funding a campaign to defame Argentina during the World Cup, and he told Radio Mitre: “Twenty-five percent of the funds came from the Brazilian government.”
Brazil’s foreign ministry said it recalled Bitelli for consultations after Milei’s remarks, while Lula said on Monday during a union event, “Here in Brazil, we don’t accept anyone sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Reactions and quotes
Argentine opposition figures reacted quickly, with former Argentine President Alberto Fernández posting on X that “Milei went to Brazil screaming like a madman and demanding to visit an imprisoned coup plotter.”
Axel Kicillof, governor of Buenos Aires province, said on X that he contacted Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to clarify that “Milei does not represent the feelings of the Argentine people,” adding “deep shame” at watching Milei humiliate and insult Brazil.
Brazil’s judiciary also weighed in, with Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin condemning Milei’s comments as “disrespectful language directed at a judge of the country’s highest court on Brazilian soil.”
In parallel, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Ambassador Bitelli had been summoned back to Brasília for consultations, while it also summoned Argentina’s ambassador to discuss the remarks, according to the AFP-linked reporting.
Diplomatic fallout
Brazil’s response included recalling its ambassador to Buenos Aires and summoning Argentina’s ambassador in Brasília, with MercoPress describing the steps as “the sharpest diplomatic response between the two countries in years.”
“Brazil’s government recalled its ambassador to Argentina for consultations after President Javier Milei launched a fierce attack on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a Supreme Court justice during the kick-off rally for Brazil’s leading right-wing presidential candidate on Saturday”
MercoPress reported that Brazil recalled Ambassador Julio Bitelli after Milei’s insults at the São Paulo convention and said Bitelli was expected to arrive in Brasília between Sunday night and early Monday.
The crisis also intersected with World Cup-related accusations, as Milei told Radio Mitre that Brazil financed part of an “anti-Argentine campaign,” saying “Twenty-five percent of the resources came from the government of Brazil,” while MercoPress said the claim “is not supported by any known public documentation.”
As the standoff continued, the Brazilian foreign ministry’s statement said there was “no precedent for a foreign president, while on Brazilian soil, to direct attacks and insults at the Head of State,” and it framed the episode as a deterioration in bilateral relations with Mercosur’s two largest members at the center of the dispute.
