Lula da Silva decided not to attend Javier Milei’s inauguration, despite the fact that the future Argentine Foreign Minister had warmly extended an invitation in the form of a letter to her Brazilian counterpart last week. The Brazilian president will send the head of diplomacy, Mauro Vieira, to represent him.
Milei, an ultra-liberal, attacked Lula during the campaign – calling him a “communist”, “thief” and “ex-prisoner” and stating that he would not receive him – but moderated his tone in the letter, delivered by Diana Mondino, in which he talks about ‘strengthening ties’ and calls the Brazilian ‘esteemed president’. Vieira thanked him for the gesture, but left the decision whether or not to accept the invitation to Lula. The Brazilian president, returning from trips to Dubai and Germany, chose not to attend Casa Rosada.
The invitation to Jair Bolsonaro, former President of Brazil, contributed to the decision, who took the opportunity to lead a delegation of supporters, including his sons Flávio, senator, and Eduardo, deputy and friend of Milei.
On the table was the possibility that Lula would send Vice President Geraldo Alckmin to Buenos Aires, the same gesture made by Bolsonaro who, at the inauguration of Alberto Fernández, the outgoing president with whom he had no political affinity, sent Hamilton Mourão, the then Vice President, to Buenos Aires sent. -president.
Lula chose Vieira, which in diplomatic circles was considered a gesture of sympathy – before Mondino presented Milei’s warm letter, this was even considered the presence of only the Brazilian ambassador in Buenos Aires, a hostile act given the closeness between the to land.
This proximity is reflected not only in its geographical location, but also in its economy, as Brazil is, next to China, the largest importer of Argentine goods. Despite Milei’s agenda – dollarization, central bank implosion and other measures seen as radical – Argentine businesspeople will hardly be able to live without a well-oiled relationship with Brazil.
Milei’s inauguration is on Sunday, three weeks after the victory of his coalition, La Libertad Avanza, over Unión Por La Pátria, over Sergio Massa, a centre-left Peronist.
Source: DN
