Overview
- Argentina’s president Javier Milei flew to São Paulo and publicly endorsed Senator Flávio Bolsonaro at the Liberal Party convention that formally launched Bolsonaro’s presidential bid on Saturday, July 25.
- Brazil’s Foreign Ministry announced the recall of its ambassador to Buenos Aires after Milei used the platform to attack President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and criticize Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
- Flávio Bolsonaro was confirmed as the PL’s candidate but enters the race weakened by a string of scandals, including leaked audio about seeking funds from jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro and a recent public feud with his stepmother Michelle Bolsonaro.
- The visit was constrained by judicial limits on contacts with jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence and barred from political-electoral visits by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, preventing Milei from meeting him.
- The episode highlights growing cross-border conservative coordination in Latin America and raises concrete risks for diplomatic ties, centrist alliances, and the tenor of Brazil’s election campaign as polls show Lula leading in a prospective runoff.