The Brazilian government assesses that the decision to summon the Brazilian ambassador to Buenos Aires for consultations represents an unprecedented rupture in the diplomatic relationship between Brazil and Argentina. In an analysis carried out on the Brazil in factmembers of Itamaraty state that the measure has no parallel in the recent history of the bond between the two countries and highlights the degree of deterioration caused by the statements made by Argentine president, Javier Milei, during his participation in a PL event in São Paulo.
According to the assessment of Brazilian diplomats, “calling the Brazilian ambassador to Argentina for consultations is unprecedented in the history of bilateral relations”. The gesture is considered one of the most forceful instruments of diplomacy before an eventual formal reduction of relations between two States and is usually adopted only in moments of major political crisis.
The decision was taken after Milei made attacks on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and expressed support for former President Jair Bolsonaro during the party convention. In the opinion of members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the statements went beyond the field of political divergence and constituted interference in Brazil’s internal affairs.
The summons of ambassador Julio Glinternick Bitelli for consultations in Brasília signals that the Lula government intends to reevaluate the direction of the bilateral relationship. During the period in which he remains in the federal capital, the diplomat must present a detailed analysis of the political situation in Argentina and discuss with Chancellor Mauro Vieira the next steps of Brazilian foreign policy in the face of the worsening crisis.
Itamaraty’s internal assessment is that the episode marks one of the moments of greatest tension between Brasília and Buenos Aires since redemocratization. Although Brazil and Argentina have experienced disagreements in different governments, diplomats emphasize that there has never been a need to resort to this mechanism in response to public statements by an Argentine head of state.
Escalation
The peak of the crisis was Milei’s speech this Saturday (25) at the PL convention, in São Paulo (SP), which made Flávio Bolsonaro’s (PL) candidacy for President official. At the event, the Argentine president criticized socialism, defended the so-called “blue wave” in South America, called Moraes “bald trash” and referred to Lula as a “prisoner” and “thief”.
Milei also attacked Moraes’ decision to deny his visit to former president Jair Bolsonaro, comparing the case to that of Lula, who received foreign heads of state — including the then Argentine president Alberto Fernández — while he was in prison.
Hours later, the president of the STF, minister Edson Fachin, reacted to Milei’s speeches. In a note, he classified the demonstration as a “disrespectful reference to a judge from the highest Court in the country”, made “on Brazilian soil, by a jurisdictional act carried out in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil”.
After the insults against Lula, the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, called Milei a clown, in an interview this Monday (27). He also rebutted the Argentine’s criticism of the Brazilian economy. “The clown president of Argentina came to Brazil yesterday. And he talked about Brazil when Argentina’s country risk is much higher, the public debt is much higher, inflation there is much higher. So we can’t consider it, we can’t join the bandwagon of these people who say it’s going to turn into an apocalypse, that there’s going to be a problem,” Durigan told Rádio Jornal, from Pernambuco.
The chief minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Guilherme Boulos (Psol), declared, also on Monday, that “no one takes Javier Milei seriously”, because he is a “pathetic caricature who embarrasses the position he holds”. Criticisms were published on social media.
Argentine political leaders criticized Milei’s stance and warned about the impact on diplomatic relations and the economic consequences for employment, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and the country’s exports.
The governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, publicly criticized Milei’s statements. “We watched with dismay President Milei’s statement, in which he offended and insulted the Brazilian government, its president and its people. In Argentina, we respect our neighboring and sister nations”, he stated. For him, Milei goes beyond her role by pleasing US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
