After Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, was part of the launch of Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential candidacy this Saturday and delivered a speech where he attacked Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, those close to the current Brazilian president aimed their criticism at the trans-Andean head of state.
One of the first to criticize Milei and his words against Lula – whom he called a “thief,” “convict,” and “socialist garbage” – was the national president of the Workers’ Party (PT), Edinho Silva, in a statement released hours after Bolsonaro’s event at the Pacaembu stadium in São Paulo.
“Our democracy allows for the debate of ideas, in which contradictory positions can and should fuel discussions about the future of the country,” Silva began writing in a post on X.
He then targeted the libertarian leader, stating that “it is unacceptable for a foreign head of state to come to our country and address its constitutional powers in disrespectful terms”.
Similarly, he noted that Milei’s behavior is not surprising, because “there are many recent situations in which he has shown not to be up to the position he holds.”
“The current occupant of the Casa Rosada would have made better use of his time and Argentine taxpayers’ resources if he had dedicated his day to working and addressing his country’s problems,” he added.
Shortly after, Brazil’s Minister of Institutional Relations, José Guimarães, referred to the Argentine president after his fiery speech in a message on social media.
As reported by the newspaper La Nación, Guimarães questioned the economic model of La Libertad Avanza – the party led by Milei – and ironically said he hoped the trans-Andean president would take advantage of “his time in Brazil to learn that governing means taking care of people, and not dismantling rights.”
“While his government was marked by an austerity agenda that sacrificed workers, retirees, and the most vulnerable, deepening social inequalities and placing the market above human dignity, Brazil chose another path: growth with inclusion, dialogue, and respect for democracy,” he argued.
Likewise, the minister stressed that the Brazilian Executive defends its sovereignty and the country’s natural reserves, stating that “Brazil does not bow its head to anyone.” “Our commitment is to the Brazilian people, to national development, and to a country that grows without renouncing its dignity and independence,” he remarked.
At the national convention of the Liberal Party, which this Saturday formalized the candidacy of the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Milei attacked the current Brazilian president in a 25-minute speech that began by saying that “in Argentina, we have seen how the damn leftists plunged us into poverty”.
Read more Pride march in Berlin suspended after crash left several injured
He immediately warned that Brazilians face elections “between liberation or a prolongation of their subjugation to the leftist.”
“It is important that we are very clear about the terms of this battle and what is at stake, because what they decide in the short term at the polls will undoubtedly have ramifications in the coming decades,” the libertarian leader pointed out.
And he then highlighted: “Brazil has not yet experienced the most disastrous consequences of this model, but it can experience them if it cannot turn the tide. We trust you, Flávio, to stop the socialist garbage!”
However, it did not end there, and Milei then directly attacked the current Brazilian president, accusing him of “disseminating communism” along with the late Fidel Castro and defined him as “a neighbor who meddled in Argentine politics to try to twist history in favor of the damn leftists.”
The latter was an allusion to Da Silva’s support for Peronism in the 2023 elections, which led Milei to the Casa Rosada, as noted by the newspaper El País.
However, the Argentine president not only attacked Lula but also referred to Alexandre de Moraes, the judge of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) who is leading a criminal case against former president Jair Bolsonaro.
During his fiery speech at Pacaembu stadium, Milei called De Moraes “the bald garbage” and accused him of acting with “a vengeful character”.
In response, the president of the STF, Judge Luiz Edson Fachin, came out to support his colleague in an official statement from the body signed on behalf of the Court, where he described Milei’s remarks as a “disrespectful reference”.
Especially because they target a judge of “the country’s highest Court” and said reference was made “on Brazilian soil,” for a ruling issued “in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil.”
In the text, Fachin also reaffirmed the “full autonomy” of the Brazilian Judiciary, adding that the Presidency of the STF “deplores manifestations incompatible with the civility that should characterize relations between States”.
Read more Cuba forecasts electricity cuts that will leave 67.5% of the island without power
