MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fernandez sends friendly message to Bolsonaro; confirms Solá as foreign minister

Rodrigo Maia and Brazilian lawmakers meet with president elect Alberto Fernandez at his office in Buenos Aires

Argentine president elect Alberto Fernandez confirmed Felipe Solá as his foreign minister and Daniel Scioli as ambassador in Brazil, following a meeting with a delegation of Brazilian lawmakers at his Buenos Aires headquarters. The Brazilian delegation was headed by the Lower House president, Rodrigo Maia.

“If we respect each other, life will be easy. Extend to president Bolsonaro my respects and my willingness to work together. My first gesture with Brazil is to send as ambassador a man very much valued by me”, Alberto Fernandez told the de Brazilian delegation in reference to Scioli, who is a former vice president and former presidential candidate.

According to a release from the president elect office, “we have a common destiny with Brazil, we have to make sure no current situation alters our relationship. Brazil is a brother with another language”, underlining that the fact, “that representatives from the Brazilian people are here is a clear signal of regional integration, and the best tool to understand globalization, such as in the recent case of tariffs on steel and aluminum”.

Lawmaker Maia said that president Bolsonaro was aware of the visit of Brazilian delegates to meet Fernandez and said he expected “to have a good relation between the two governments”.

“We are happy to work with Argentina and bring governments closer so that we have the strength to face the challenges from the world economy”, said Lower House president Maia.

The Brazilian delegation of lawmakers was made up of representatives from the main political parties in Congress, both from the ruling coalition and from the opposition.

The visiting party was introduced to Fernandez by Sergio Massa, recently named as president of the Argentine Lower House, the Brazilian ambassador in Argentina, Sergio Franca Danese, and Marcelo Dantas, foreign affairs advisor to Maia.

The next foreign minister Solá has a long political experience in the Peronist movement, among other posts he was Agriculture minister with president Carlos Menem and later governor of the province of Buenos Aires. He is considered middle line and pragmatic, and most significant close to Bishop Bergoglio and now Pope Francis.