Argentina’s Milei to speak at right-wing Bolsonaro rally in Brazil
2024.07.07 12:38
By Anderson Coelho
BALNEARIO CAMBORIU, Brazil (Reuters) -Argentinian President Javier Milei is set to speak on Sunday at a right-wing event in Brazil, after having met conservative politicians in the country, potentially placing a further strain on relations between the two neighboring nations.
Milei arrived on Saturday at the beach resort of Balneario Camboriu in southern Brazil, where the CPAC Brasil 2024 event is being held. He was received with a hug by Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the last presidential race to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Milei maintains a tense relationship with Lula, who he called “corrupt” and a “communist” in a post on X last week. The leaders have not yet met, as the leftist leader says he wants Milei to apologize first.
They were supposed to meet at the presidential summit of the Mercosur trade block in Paraguay on Monday, but Milei decided to skip that meeting to attend Bolsonaro’s rally in Brazil instead.
On Sunday, Milei met with Bolsonaro and the governors of Sao Paulo and Santa Catarina, both supporters of the former president. They discussed the importance of improving trade between the countries, said Argentinian presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, who was at the meeting.
CPAC Brasil is intended to drum up support for candidates of Bolsonaro’s party in this year’s municipal elections and project his influence ahead of the 2026 presidential race.
The event, billed as the first major opposition rally in the campaign for local mayoral elections in October, also has served to unite right-wing leaders in the Americas.
Chile’s former presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast addressed the rally, as did former Bolivian minister Branko Marinkovic, who was presented as a possible candidate for next year’s presidential elections in Bolivia.
The crowd cheered Bolsonaro, saying they want him back in power, despite his being banned from seeking elected office until 2030 for attacks on democracy.
Bolsonaro, who spoke on Saturday, said the right-wing is gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and said he hoped that former U.S. president Donald Trump will be returned to the White House this year.
