Brazil’s Lula cancels visit to avoid Argentine leader

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has cancelled a visit to the southern state of Santa Catarina
• He cancelled because Argentine President Javier Milei is there this weekend
• Milei is expected to meet Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro at a conservative leaders’ event
• Lula recently demanded an apology from Milei, who had called him corrupt, a communist, and a dinosaur
• Milei is an outspoken critic of leftist governments in the region

Brazil’s Lula cancels visit to avoid Argentine leader

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has cancelled a visit to the southern state of Santa Catarina because Argentine President Javier Milei is there this weekend. Milei is expected to meet Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro at a conservative leaders’ event.

Lula recently demanded an apology from Milei, who had called him corrupt, a communist, and a dinosaur. Milei, a right-wing economist, refused to apologise, stating “I haven’t done anything wrong.” The leaders of Brazil and Argentina, South America’s largest economies, have never met in person.

Milei, a right-wing economist and former television personality is expected to attend a meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Santa Catarina. 

At the gathering, he plans to meet Bolsonaro, whom Lula defeated in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election. Milei is an outspoken critic of leftist governments in the region.

The tension between Lula and Milei has raised concerns about the impact on bilateral relations and the future of the South American trade bloc Mercosur.