Argentina Will Not Retaliate After Brazil Downgrades Diplomatic Ties

Argentina said on August 6 that it will not retaliate after Brazil decided to downgrade diplomatic relations, a move that came after a series of latest remarks by President Javier Milei targeting his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno stated that Buenos Aires will not respond with diplomatic measures, after Brazil announced it would handle bilateral relations through a chargé d'affaires instead of a full ambassador.

Brazil's decision came after Milei again called Lula a "thief," "corrupt," and "someone who has been in prison" in a television interview on August 3. "He was in prison, so calling him an ex-convict is correct," Milei said.

Lula, who served as Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, spent 580 days in jail after being convicted in the massive "Operation Car Wash" corruption investigation in 2018. However, the conviction was later annulled due to procedural violations, and the judge overseeing the case was found to have acted with bias, paving the way for Lula to return to the presidency in 2023.

Brazilian Ambassador Julio Bitelli will not return to Buenos Aires, marking the lowest point in relations between the two neighboring countries since the Argentine leader took office. The two presidents have never held an official bilateral meeting during Milei's term, which also began in 2023.

The tensions come less than two months before Brazil's presidential election, in which Lula is seeking a fourth term, facing Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. Milei has expressed support for the Bolsonaro family, appearing at the launch of Flavio's campaign last month and using the event to criticize Lula and a Brazilian Supreme Court judge.

Lula has used the growing tensions to cast himself as a defender of Brazil's sovereignty. "We cannot accept interference," he said in an interview on August 6, emphasizing that Brazil "will confront anyone from outside who seeks to interfere in our electoral process." He also defended his government's decision to downgrade relations with Argentina, saying Brazil wants "to be treated with respect."

The tension with Argentina comes as Brazil is also embroiled in a separate diplomatic dispute with the United States. This week, Washington revoked the visa of Brazil's ambassador after Brasilia refused to approve the appointment of Daniel Perez, a prominent Republican congressman from Florida, as the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.

Lula called the appointment "irresponsible and lacking in discernment," saying Washington took too long to designate someone, and with elections approaching, he would not receive a new ambassador. He also defended Brazil's earlier refusal to grant visas to two Trump administration officials who planned to visit the country to discuss what the U.S. described as electoral integrity, accusing them of seeking to "interfere, monitor, and investigate Brazil's voting machines."

The diplomatic tensions come as the issue of outside interference has become a central theme in Lula's re-election campaign, with his government accusing Milei and the Bolsonaro family faction of seeking to undermine confidence in Brazil's electoral system.