Hear
BRASILIA- The tensions between the leaders of Argentina and Brazil were exposed this Wednesday, when the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei says “a lot of nonsense” and that there will be no dialogue with him until there is a request for apologies
In an interview with the UOL website, Lula said that he had not yet spoken to Milei because he believes that the Argentine president has to apologize to him and to Brazil. Although he did not specify what statements he was referring to, Milei, who has a good relationship with former president Jair Bolsonaro, He called the Brazilian “corrupt” and “communist” during the electoral campaign that brought him to power, in December of last year.
Lula and Milei, the leaders of the two largest economies in the world Mercosur, they have not met or spoken since the Argentine took office in December. They met at the last G7 summit in Italy, but there was no joint photo. “Don’t try to rule the world”the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) also warned Milei.
Asked about the extradition request for the Government to deport the Brazilians involved in the assault on the three powers of Brasilia, Lula delved into why there has not yet been a political dialogue. “I did not speak with the president of Argentina because I think he has to apologize to Brazil and me. “He said a lot of nonsense.”he emphasized.
After that he noted that Milei “It will not be the one who sows tares” between the two countries since Argentina is “very important” for Brazil.
“I just want him to apologize. Argentina is a country that I like a lotIt is a very important country for Brazil, Brazil is very important for Argentina, and it is not a president of the republic who is going to create a rift between Brazil and Argentina. The Argentine and Brazilian people are greater than the presidents,” he added.
“If the president of Argentina governs Argentina, that’s fine, let him not try to govern the world,” he emphasized.
In the interview, Lula was also asked about the flight to Argentina of Brazilians investigated and even convicted for the attacks on the headquarters of the three branches of government on January 8, 2023, where they are seeking political asylum. On this topic he said that those who are in Argentina and have already been convicted They must be detained in Argentine territory or return to Brazil to serve their sentence.and added that the case was handled by the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, in addition to the Federal Police.
“If these guys [que están condenados] They don’t want to come, they want to be arrested there and stay in Argentina. If not, let them come here. We are handling it as diplomatically as possible.“he added
At the beginning of June, after the request that arrived from that country, the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, said he was unaware that some of Bolsonaro’s followers had entered the country. ““We still do not have any information of that type, we do not have red alerts about these people,” the official said.
The Brazilian Police arrested hundreds of alleged agitators, financiers and inciters of the assaults that occurred in January 2023, a week after Lula’s inauguration. Some received sentences for crimes such as coup d’état, with sentences of up to 17 years in prison.
During the electoral campaign Milei took strong aim against Lula, who openly supported the campaign of Sergio Massa and with a good historical harmony with the Kirchnerism and the then president Alberto Fernández. Milei made a series of attacks against Lula during his campaign, calling him a communist, a thief and corrupt. The Argentine president He also stated that he would not do business with “communists.”a group in which he included Lula, but then said that businessmen could negotiate with whoever they wanted.
After the electoral victory, the chancellor Diana Mondino tried to smooth things over. Even before the libertarian took office, he traveled to Brasilia to try to reduce the friction that had occurred during the campaign.
Although there were attempts at rapprochement with Lula’s government, The Brazilian president did not attend the ceremony in Buenos Aires. Milei had invited Bolsonaro to his inauguration the day after the electoral victory, but in the end he did not attend and his son Eduardo came in his place.
Distance remained between the two heads of state even at the G7 summit in Italy this month. Although the press speculated about a possible meeting between Milei and Lula in Bari, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said that “there was no request” for a bilateral meeting.
In March, Lula assured that the extreme right threatens democracy in the world, and gave the case of his Argentine counterpart as an example. “Who is today against the system, which criticizes everything? Milei in Argentina,” she launched.
For its part, the Casa Rosada responded through the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni. “Whatever Lula intends is within his wishes, we respect it, but the President has not committed anything that he has to regret,” held.
He also indicated that Lula and Milei met and greeted briefly during the G7 summit in Italy, but that they did not have a bilateral meeting.
Agencies AFP and Reuters
THE NATION
