Milei escalates Brazil row, calls Lula 'thief' and 'corrupt' in TV interview

Published Aug 3, 02:42 AM UTC

Argentine far-right President Javier Milei has escalated a diplomatic row with Brazil by publicly calling President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a 'thief' and 'corrupt person' during a television interview. This follows a similar incident a week earlier at a political event for Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, which prompted Brazil to recall its ambassador from Buenos Aires and summon the Argentine ambassador. Milei referenced Lula's 2017 corruption conviction and subsequent imprisonment, dismissing his release as due to a 'bureaucratic error.' Lula's convictions were later overturned after the judge was declared biased. The dispute comes ahead of Brazil's presidential election this fall, where Flávio Bolsonaro will challenge the 80-year-old incumbent Lula, and Michelle Bolsonaro is running for the Senate.

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