Argentine President Javier Milei is set to speak on Sunday at a right-wing event in Brazil, potentially putting further strain on relations between the neighboring countries which have historically enjoyed close ties.
Milei arrived on Saturday at the beach resort of Balneario Camboriú in southern Brazil, where the CPAC Brasil 2024 event is being held. He was received with a hug by Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the last presidential race to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Milei maintains a tense relationship with Lula, who he called “corrupt” and a “communist” in a post on X last week. The leaders have not yet met, as the leftist leader says he wants Milei to apologize first.
Another potential focus of bilateral conflict is that at least 60 Bolsonaro supporters who participated in Brazil’s attempted coup in 2023 have come to Argentina in an apparent bid to evade prosecution. Sources close to the matter told the Herald that despite initial denials about their presence, Argentina has provided information on the potential fugitives and Brazil is preparing extradition requests. Carolina Siebra, a lawyer for 300 Brazilians investigated for crimes ranging from insubordination to terrorism for the attempted coup, told the Herald that some of them will file formal requests for political asylum in Argentina. She added that the legal process against the Bolsonaristas “violates the human rights treaties to which Brazil is a signatory.”
Milei favored his participation in CPAC Brasil over the Mercosur summit on July 8 in Paraguay. The event would have been the first official meeting between Lula and Milei.
CPAC Brasil began on Saturday, headlined by Bolsonaro, and is intended to drum up support for candidates of his party in this year’s municipal elections and project his influence ahead of the 2026 presidential race.
The event, billed as the first major opposition rally in the campaign for local mayoral elections in October, has also served to unite right-wing leaders in the Americas. Speakers attacked Brazil’s current government and advocated what they see as Christian pro-life family values, and a ban on abortion, in speeches that were pro-gun and anti-drugs.
The crowd cheered Bolsonaro, saying they wanted him back in power, although he has been banned from seeking elected office until 2030 for attacks on democracy.
Bolsonaro, who gave a speech on Saturday, said the right wing is gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and he hoped that former U.S. president Donald Trump would return to the White House this year.
—Reuters/Herald