Brazil’s government announced on Tuesday that it is scaling down its diplomatic footprint in Argentina, following a fresh wave of verbal attacks by Argentine President Javier Milei against his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The move marks an unprecedented rupture in relations between the two South American neighbors, according to a spokesperson for Brazil’s foreign ministry who spoke to the Associated Press.
The spokesperson said Milei has called Lula ‘a thief’ three times since Sunday, using similar language at a convention of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s party on July 25. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, is set to challenge Lula in October’s election. During the same event, Milei also labeled Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as ‘trash,’ after de Moraes denied the Argentine leader’s request to visit Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest serving a 27-year sentence for his role in a coup attempt.
In response to Milei’s initial remarks in July, Brazil recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires, Julio Bitelli, just a day after the first insult. Since then, Brazilian interests in Argentina have been managed by a chargé d’affaires, a lower-ranking diplomatic post. The spokesperson confirmed that Bitelli will not return to Argentina as long as Milei continues his aggressive comments toward Lula.
Lula himself has remained silent on Milei’s provocations, but the relationship between the two leaders has been frosty since Milei took office in December 2023. Milei, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has aligned himself with Washington, which is currently at odds with Brasília. Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington, retaliating against Brazil’s denial of visas last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit ahead of the upcoming elections.
Lula was officially declared his party’s candidate for reelection on Sunday at the Workers’ Party convention, where concerns about foreign interference in the vote were widely voiced. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, a conservative who will again run as Lula’s running mate, took a jab at Milei and Trump, saying Brazil’s electronic voting system is so secure that ‘it doesn’t accept any votes from Argentines and Americans.’
The diplomatic downgrade underscores the deepening rift between the two largest economies in South America, a development with significant implications for regional integration and the broader geopolitical landscape. As Brazil and Argentina navigate this unprecedented crisis, observers will be watching closely to see whether diplomatic channels can be restored or if the relationship will continue to deteriorate.