The president of Brazil, the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, from the extreme right, have not yet had a conversation although the latter has been in power for almost seven months. “I have not spoken with the president of Argentina because I believe that [antes] He has to apologize to Brazil and to me, he has said a lot of nonsense, I just want him to apologize,” the Brazilian explained this Wednesday during an interview with the media UOL. Both attended the meeting of G-7 leaders in Italy this month, where they only exchanged a protocolary greeting, according to the Argentine government spokesman. On July 7 and 8, they will have their first formal meeting, barring any surprises, at the summit that the countries of the Mercosur bloc are holding in Asunción (Paraguay).
But Milei has no plans to apologize, as requested by Lula. “It is within his wishes and we respect that, but the president has not committed anything that he needs to repent of, at least for now,” said the Argentine spokesman, Manuel Adorni, in a press conference. His response is similar to those he has given on previous occasions in response to requests for apologies from other governments attacked by Milei, such as that of Spain’s Pedro Sánchez or Colombia’s Gustavo Petro.
This Wednesday marks 201 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Argentina and the current tense climate is the opposite of that of a year ago, when the then Argentine president, the Peronist Alberto Fernández, traveled to meet with Lula for the fifth time and they celebrated together that anniversary. Lula’s discomfort with Fernández’s successor began when the Argentine ultra-liberal called him a “corrupt communist” during the electoral campaign. It got worse when, once elected, he also invited former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro to his inauguration, so Lula preferred to send his chancellor, Mauro Vieira.
Brazil is Argentina’s main trading partner and the Foreign Ministry has tried without success to reach a rapprochement between the two presidents. In April, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino visited Brasilia and São Paulo and left the door open to a future meeting that for now remains unrealized. The protocol greeting at the G7 revealed by Adorni escaped all the cameras and in the family photo Milei and Lula each posed at a different end. This did not prevent Brazil from saving Argentina from its recent gas shortage crisis through the state-owned Petrobras.
In recent weeks, the bilateral relationship has been strained because dozens of Bolsonaro supporters, convicted or investigated for participating in the coup attempt in 2023, have fled to the neighboring country in search of refuge after violating the precautionary measures imposed by the judge.
Lula, who asked for the vote for the Peronist Sergio Massa in the elections that gave Milei victory last November, is aware that the relationship with Argentina is vital, but he wants to maintain a certain distance from a leader who insults him and who shares the far-right global alliance with Donald Trump, Bolsonaro or the Spanish party Vox. “Argentina is a very important country for Brazil, and Brazil is very important for Argentina. It will not be a president of the Republic who will stir up trouble between Brazil and Argentina. The Argentine people and the Brazilian people are greater than the presidents,” Lula added in the interview.
Last week, the Argentine Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, delivered to the Government of Brazil a list of 60 Brazilian fugitives who have fled to Argentina, in response to a previous query about the whereabouts of 143 Bolsonaro supporters wanted by the Brazilian police for violating precautionary measures. Lula has declared to UOL that the issue is handled “in the most diplomatic way possible” and that, “if the guys don’t want to come [a Brasil]that they remain imprisoned there, in Argentina.”
