SAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Sunday that it is pulling its ambassador home from Argentina, following a series of sharp insults directed at Brazilian government officials by Argentine President Javier Milei during his visit to the South American nation.
The move came one day after Milei traveled to São Paulo to attend an event where Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro — a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro — was officially named the presidential candidate of his father’s political party.
During his remarks at Saturday’s gathering, Milei called Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a “thief” and a “delinquent,” among other harsh characterizations. He also targeted Supreme Federal Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, calling him “trash.” The comments followed Moraes’ decision to deny Milei a visit with Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest while serving a 27-year sentence related to a coup attempt.
The president of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, Minister Edson Fachin, condemned the remarks, describing them as a “disrespectful reference to a magistrate of the highest court in the country, made on Brazilian soil.”
A spokesperson for Brazil’s foreign affairs ministry confirmed that Ambassador Julio Bitelli was recalled for consultations in the wake of Milei’s statements.
Lula has not directly responded to Milei’s comments. However, in an opinion piece published Sunday by The Washington Post — in which he criticized U.S. tariffs against Brazil as “a strategic mistake” — Lula wrote that “Brazil’s destiny is determined only by Brazilians without external interference, without subservience.”
Those remarks came just a day after Brazil’s Foreign Ministry denied entry visas to two U.S. State Department officials who had planned to visit the country the following week, offering no public explanation for the decision.
Lula is currently seeking reelection and is expected to face Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, whose family has well-established ties to the Trump administration.
