Argentina-Brazil Ties Worsen After Bolsonaro's Departure and Milei's Silence

Argentina's involvement in the discreet and brief passage of liberal senator Flavio Bolsonaro through Misiones province on his way to Miami has dealt a new blow to the already strained bilateral relationship between Buenos Aires and Brasilia, according to diplomatic circles in both countries.

The episode follows President Javier Milei's refusal to recognize Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's victory in the October 26 runoff election against the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Milei had officially supported Bolsonaro's candidacy at its launch in late July in São Paulo.

“It is important that democracy not be binary: whoever wins governs and whoever loses goes to jail.”

Lula won the runoff with 51.79 percent of the vote against 48.21 percent for Bolsonaro. Milei has not publicly congratulated the Brazilian president or formally recognized the outcome, while the Casa Rosada evaluates its position amid irregularity complaints from the Bolsonaro camp.

Diplomatic representation between the two countries was downgraded to chargés d'affaires in August. Brazil withdrew its ambassador in Buenos Aires and reduced its diplomatic mission after Milei traveled to São Paulo to back Bolsonaro and insulted his counterpart, calling him "corrupt" and "a convict."

Neither president has spoken about the future of the relationship after the latest episode, and no one expects Argentine chargé d'affaires Daniel Raimondi to return to Brasilia as ambassador in the short term, nor Brazilian Julio Bitelli to return as ambassador in Buenos Aires.

Government spokesperson Adrián Ravier said on Tuesday that the government took note of the electoral result in Brazil and that there would be no congratulatory message to the winner. He added that Argentina and Brazil are brotherly peoples and that for Javier Milei, peoples matter more than ideologies, and that work will continue within Mercosur despite ideological differences.

La Libertad Avanza senator Patricia Bullrich broke with Milei by recognizing the Brazilian electoral result and questioning the use of justice against opposition figures. She said the will expressed at the ballot box must be respected despite political differences, and stressed the strategic interests and cooperation opportunities uniting both countries.