Milei hails Flavio Bolsonaro first-round win over Lula in Brazil

Argentine President Javier Milei congratulated Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Monday after he finished first in Brazil's presidential first round with 47.25% of votes against incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 44.91%, according to the electoral authority with 98.76% of ballots counted. The two will face each other in a runoff on October 25.

Milei posted on X calling the result a "historic election against the communist Lula" and said he hopes to start working soon with Bolsonaro to make Argentina and Brazil "great commercial, cultural and political partners." He added that "the American continent belongs to citizens who want to live in freedom" and ended with his slogan "Viva la libertad, carajo."

“The American continent belongs to citizens who want to live in freedom. I hope we can soon start working together so that Argentina and Brazil continue to be great commercial, cultural and political partners.”

The Argentine leader had actively backed Bolsonaro's campaign, traveling to Sao Paulo in July for the Liberal Party convention that launched the candidacy. Bolsonaro echoed Milei's chainsaw rhetoric during the campaign, brandishing a giant pair of scissors to symbolize spending cuts.

Brazilian government minister Guilherme Boulos responded to Milei's involvement by calling him "a disgrace to Latin America" and rejecting his interference. Most global leaders stayed silent given the narrow margin of roughly 2.3 million votes, with public reactions largely limited to ideological allies such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At a cabinet meeting Monday, Milei called the outcome a "great triumph" and argued that Lula's late "plan platita" cash-transfer push failed to sway voters, which he said validates his own austerity approach ahead of Argentina's elections. A potential Milei trip to Brazil before the runoff remains under analysis.

Markets reacted positively, with Brazil's Bovespa index rising around 15% and ADRs gaining up to 18% on expectations that Lula may not overcome the deficit. Meanwhile, Economy Minister Luis Caputo highlighted a 1.9% rise in August industrial production, though the broader EMAE activity index's trend-cycle showed only 0.2% growth.