President Javier Milei of Argentina renewed personal attacks on Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during an interview with the LN+ channel on 2 August, calling him a “thief”, “corrupt” and “convict” and asserting that Lula’s release from prison resulted from a procedural error rather than innocence. The remarks came one week after Milei had used similar language at a party convention in São Paulo where he endorsed the presidential candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro, triggering a sharp diplomatic response from Brasília.

Brazil’s foreign ministry had already recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires, Julio Bitelli, for consultations and summoned the Argentine ambassador, Daniel Raimondi, to convey formal displeasure. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described the episode as unprecedented and grave, though he signalled that harsher measures were not under consideration for now. Lula initially responded with irony, asking “Who is this guy?”, before later dismissing Milei’s appearance at the opposition event as a “patacoada” — a piece of nonsense.

Viewed from Buenos Aires, the Milei government sought to contain the fallout. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno stated that Argentina did not intend to sever relations and that the dispute reflected ideological and political differences, not an institutional rupture. Behind the scenes, Brazilian government interlocutors assessed that the crisis had caused domestic political wear for Milei and that the Casa Rosada had adopted a more moderate tone. Those same sources, according to reports in the Brazilian press, evaluated that Milei’s actions were coordinated with US President Donald Trump as part of a strategy to influence Brazil’s political landscape — a claim Milei denied in the LN+ interview.

The Argentine president also repeated an unsubstantiated allegation that Brazil had financed an anti-Argentina social-media campaign during and after the 2026 World Cup, together with Mexico, the US Democratic Party and Spain, with the domestic counterpart being Kirchnerism. The Federation of Argentine Municipalities publicly apologised to the Brazilian people and condemned the president’s statements as an unacceptable lack of respect. No formal request for an apology has been made by either side, and Brazilian diplomats indicate that the return of Ambassador Bitelli to Buenos Aires will depend on the evolution of the bilateral climate.