Buenos Aires, Aug 5 (dpa/GNA) – Brazil has downgraded diplomatic relations with Argentina, following renewed verbal attacks by the right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei against his left-wing Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the two countries said on Wednesday.
The Brazilian government has informed the Argentinian ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Raimondi, of its decision to reduce the diplomatic representation to the level of chargé d’affaires and to request the ambassador’s return to Argentina, the Argentinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Argentine Republic, takes note of the decision taken unilaterally by the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, and regrets its choice to continue isolating itself from the rest of the region for purely ideological reasons,” the Argentinian Foreign Ministry said.
Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, confirmed the step in an interview with Argentinian broadcaster +perfil, citing “repeated insults.”
The dispute between South America’s two largest economies began a week and a half ago, when during the nomination of the right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, Milei described the current incumbent, Lula, as a “thief” and a “convict.” Milei also called for turning one’s back on the “socialist scum” in Latin America.
Brazil responded by recalling its ambassador from Buenos Aires. Instead of apologizing, Milei doubled down with further insults on Argentinian television.
Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, expressed regret at Brazil’s decision during a press conference. However, he noted that the Brazilian government had also directed insults at Milei in the past. Quirno announced that the Argentine government was working to convene a meeting of like-minded heads of state in the region.
GNA