Milei accuses Brazil of having financed an “anti-Argentine campaign”, Lula recalls his ambassador

Diplomatic tensions between Argentina and Brazil escalated this weekend. Argentine President Javier Milei accused, on Sunday July 26, the Brazilian government, but also Mexico and the American Democratic Party, of having financed an “anti-Argentina campaign”. He appeared to be referring, at least in part, to criticism of the country and its football team ahead of the World Cup.

Several players and members of the technical staff of Argentina, beaten 1-0 by Spain in the final after extra time, attacked the Spanish team at the final whistle, sparking criticism.

“Who put the most money into this anti-Argentine campaign? The government of Brazil. 25% of the resources came from the government of Brazil,” Javier Milei said in an interview with Radio Miter, without presenting any evidence to support his accusations. “And then they come and talk to me about interference,” he lashed out.

“In addition, this anti-Argentine campaign was also financed by Mexico, by the Democratic Party of the United States,” added Javier Milei, without elaborating further. “It’s the progressive thinking heads who don’t want the ideas of freedom to work.”

Lula described as a “thief” and a “prisoner”

Brasilia recalled its ambassador to Argentina on Sunday for consultation due to the “offensive remarks made” by Javier Milei against his left-wing Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced to AFP.

Present during the inauguration on Saturday in Sao Paulo of Flavio Bolsonaro as a candidate for the October election in Brazil, the ultraliberal president described – without directly mentioning him – Lula a “thief” and a “prisoner”.

A leading figure of the Latin American right, Javier Milei warned against “the Lula risk” during the elections and called on Brazil to free itself from “subjugation to the left”.

Without naming Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, the Argentine president also declared that “this bald scumbag” had prevented him from visiting his “unjustly imprisoned friend”, Jair Bolsonaro, father of Flavio and former president (2019-2022) incarcerated for attempted coup d’état in 2022, then placed under house arrest in Brasilia.

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“I wanted to go see my friend Jair Bolsonaro. They didn’t let me. Here, on the other hand, the ex-prisoner came to see the detainee”, declared Javier Milei, in reference to Lula’s visit in July 2025 to Cristina Kirchner, then recently imprisoned at her home in Buenos Aires for corruption.

“Here there was no problem. Nobody forbade him anything,” Javier Milei continued. “However, I was not allowed to visit my friend (Bolsonaro), who is also unjustly imprisoned.”

Milei “unworthy of the position he occupies”

The Brazilian government also summoned the Argentine ambassador to Brasilia on Sunday.

“In Brazil, we do not accept that anyone sticks their nose where they have not been asked to do so,” President Lula said on Sunday, without specifying the target of his remarks, during an event with trade unionists. He promised to continue ruling the country “without interference from anyone.”

Javier Milei attracted the wrath of the President of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Edson Fachin, who criticized in a press release his “disrespectful reference” to Judge Moraes and deplored “remarks incompatible with the civic spirit which must characterize relations between States”.

The president of the Workers’ Party (in power), Edinho Silva, judged that the Argentine head of state had shown himself to be “unworthy of the office he occupies”.

President Lula has maintained very cold relations with Javier Milei since the latter took over the presidency of Argentina, a neighboring country and strategic partner of Brazil, in 2023. Although they have crossed paths in multilateral meetings, they have never held a bilateral meeting.

During his last trip to Argentina in 2025, Lula, however, visited the former president and current opposition figure Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, placed under house arrest for corruption.

On Saturday, President Milei accused Lula of trying to harm him during the 2023 Argentine presidential campaign. “I had a neighbor who interfered in Argentine politics to try to distort the course of history in favor of these bastard leftists,” he said, without naming, again, the Brazilian president.

With AFP