Written by Anderson Coelho
BALANEIO CAMBORIU, Brazil (Reuters) – Argentine President Javier Milei is set to address a right-wing event in Brazil on Sunday after meeting conservative politicians in the country, potentially straining relations between the neighbors.
On Saturday, Milei arrived at the Balneario Camboriu beach resort in southern Brazil, where the 2024 Brazil Conservative Political Action Conference is being held. He was greeted with a hug by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the recent presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Milei maintains a tense relationship with Lula, whom he called “corrupt” and a “communist” in a post on X last week. The two leaders have yet to meet, with the leftist leader saying he wants Milei to apologize first.
They were supposed to meet at the Mercosur trade bloc’s presidential summit in Paraguay on Monday, but Milley instead decided to skip that meeting to attend Bolsonaro’s rally in Brazil.
On Sunday, Milei met with Bolsonaro and the governors of the states of Sao Paulo and Santa Catarina, both supporters of the former president. They discussed the importance of improving trade between the two countries, according to Argentine presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, who attended the meeting.
The Conservative Political Action Conference in Brazil aims to rally support for Bolsonaro’s party candidates in this year’s municipal elections and showcase his influence ahead of the 2026 presidential race.
The event, billed as the first major opposition rally in the October local municipal election campaign, helped unite right-wing leaders in the Americas.
Former Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Cast spoke at the rally, as did former Bolivian minister Branko Marinkovic, who has been introduced as a possible candidate for next year’s presidential election in Bolivia.
The crowd cheered Bolsonaro, saying they wanted him back in power, even though he is barred from running for elected office until 2030 because of his attacks on democracy.
Bolsonaro, speaking on Saturday, said the right was gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and said he hoped former U.S. President Donald Trump would return to the White House this year.
