Argentina's Foreign Ministry announced on 4/8 that it had received notification from the Brazilian government regarding the maintenance of bilateral relations at the charge d'affaires level.
Consequently, Brazil requested Argentina recall Ambassador Daniel Raimondi. Brazil's Ambassador to Argentina, Julio Bitelli, will also not return to Buenos Aires after being called home for consultations last week.
This move marks a serious rift in relations between Latin America's two largest economies, stemming from statements made by Argentine President Javier Milei targeting his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
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Argentine President Javier Milei in Lima, Peru, on 28/7. *Photo: AFP* |
President Milei attended a political event in Sao Paulo late last month, where Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was identified as the party's presidential candidate. Speaking at the event, the Argentine president accused incumbent Brazilian President Lula da Silva of being a "criminal" and a "thief".
He also alluded to Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as "scum" after Moraes refused to allow President Milei to visit Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest on charges of attempting a coup.
In a subsequent interview, President Milei further claimed that Argentina was the target of a campaign launched by Brazil to defame Lionel Messi and his teammates at the 2026 World Cup.
Brazil's Supreme Court Chief Justice, Edson Fachin, criticized Milei's comments as an act of "disrespect towards a judge of the country's highest court".
Argentina later sought to appease Brazil, its largest trading partner, when Adrian Ravier, the presidential spokesperson, stated that these were merely "political and ideological differences".
However, President Milei continued his harsh stance against Lula in an interview on 2/8, again calling the Brazilian president a "thief" and a "corrupt official". The leaders of the two nations have not had any official bilateral meetings since Milei took office in 12/2023.
Ngoc Anh (According to Reuters, AFP)
