\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t The Brazilian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires and summoned Argentina\u2019s envoy in Brasilia for an explanation after President Javier Milei insulted his counterpart, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, during a visit to S\u00e3o Paulo to support Lula\u2019s electoral rival, Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a convention of Brazil\u2019s Liberal Party on Saturday, Milei referred to Lula, without naming him directly, as a \u2018thief,\u2019 a \u2018former convict\u2019 and a \u2018totalitarian.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018If in Argentina we have what we used to call the \u2018Kuka Risk\u2019 as an economic factor, here in Brazil today you have the \u2018Lula Risk\u2019,\u201d Milei said, referring to sovereign risk. Kuka is a pejorative term used in Argentina for supporters of former presidents N\u00e9stor and Cristina Kirchner and their political movement.<\/p>\n
Milei also accused the Brazilian government of orchestrating and financing an \u201canti-Argentina campaign\u201d during the 2026 World Cup, following accusations of racism and cheating directed at the country and its players.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know who put the most money into this anti-Argentina campaign? The Brazilian government,\u201d Milei said in an interview with Radio Mitre after returning from S\u00e3o Paulo on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-five percent of the funds came from the Brazilian government. And then they come and talk about interference,\u201d he added, without providing evidence to support the claim.<\/p>\n
Although Da Silva and Milei have been at odds since the latter became president, the comments made by Milei and the decision taken by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry represent a new peak in diplomatic tension between the two governments.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic crisis Following Milei\u2019s remarks, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira recalled Brazil\u2019s ambassador to Argentina, Julio Bitelli, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Vieira also summoned Argentina\u2019s ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Raimondi, \u201cto express the Brazilian government\u2019s condemnation of the offensive remarks made by President Javier Milei during his private visit to S\u00e3o Paulo on July 25\u201d and to demand an explanation \u201cregarding the Argentine president\u2019s conduct on Brazilian soil,\u201d according to a statement from Brazil\u2019s Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no precedent for a foreign president who, while on Brazilian soil, has repeatedly committed acts of aggression and hurled insults against the Head of State, democratic institutions \u2014 including the judiciary \u2014 and the Brazilian people,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is particularly regrettable that this disgraceful episode involves the president of a country with which Brazil has enjoyed 203 years of friendship and cooperation and which is Brazil\u2019s main trading partner,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
Lula did not directly respond to the accusations or insults. \u201cHere in Brazil, we don\u2019t accept anyone sticking their nose where it doesn\u2019t belong, because Brazil knows how to take care of itself,\u201d he said on Monday during a union event. While he did not mention any names, local press like O Globo saw it as a potential comeback at Milei.<\/p>\n
Brazilian Finance Minister Dario Durigan called Milei a \u201cclown,\u201d saying that the Argentine president \u201cspoke about Brazil\u201d when the country risk, debt, and inflation \u201care much higher\u201d in Argentina.<\/p>\n
This is not the first time Milei\u2019s remarks about a foreign leader have triggered a diplomatic dispute. Spain, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have all recalled their ambassadors at different times following insults directed by Milei at their presidents.<\/p>\n
Colombian President Gustavo Petro went further, expelling Argentine diplomats from Bogot\u00e1 after Milei called him a \u201cterrorist assassin.\u201d Venezuela\u2019s Nicol\u00e1s Maduro severed diplomatic relations after Milei refused to recognize him as the country\u2019s legitimate president in 2024.<\/p>\n
Milei\u2019s trip Milei traveled to S\u00e3o Paulo on Friday night, where he met with Governor Tarc\u00edsio Gomes de Freitas and far-right presidential candidate Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, who is set to challenge Lula in the October 4 election.<\/p>\n
Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro\u2019s candidacy was confirmed during the Liberal Party convention. He is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe only Fl\u00e1vio can stop Lula and bring about real change for all Brazilians,\u201d Milei told convention attendees.<\/p>\n
Milei had also planned to visit Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence under house arrest.<\/p>\n
However, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied permission for the visit. De Moraes temporarily barred Bolsonaro from receiving visitors \u2014 particularly for political purposes \u2014 after the former president released a political letter through his son, violating a court order prohibiting him from using social media, including through third parties.<\/p>\n
During his speech, Milei said the \u201cbald garbage\u201d \u2014 referring to De Moraes \u2014 had prevented him from seeing his friend Bolsonaro, \u201cwho has been unfairly convicted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milei also criticized Lula, calling him a \u201cformer convict\u201d and noting that the Brazilian president visited Cristina Kirchner last year, while she was under house arrest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lula was imprisoned between 2018 and 2019 on corruption charges that were later annulled.<\/p>\n
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison in September 2025 for his role in a plot to overturn the results of Brazil\u2019s 2022 election and assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice de Moraes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said the conspiracy was intended to prevent Lula from taking office after his election victory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires and summoned Argentina\u2019s envoy in Brasilia for an explanation after President Javier Milei insulted his counterpart, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, during a visit to S\u00e3o Paulo to support Lula\u2019s electoral rival, Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro. Speaking at a convention of Brazil\u2019s Liberal Party on Saturday, Milei […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":96493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[780,5026,81,4015,61,1741,59],"tags":[1861,21549,596,6119,89,11204,86],"class_list":["post-96492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brazil","category-flavio-bolsonaro","category-international-relations","category-jair-bolsonaro","category-javier-milei","category-lula-da-silva","category-politics","tag-brazil","tag-flavio-bolsonaro","tag-international-relations","tag-jair-bolsonaro","tag-javier-milei","tag-lula-da-silva","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}