MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spotlight on BA for Mercosur Summit this week: Lula meeting Milei and CFK

Lula does not speak with Millei and intends to visit the imprisoned CFK

Argentine President Javier Milei is preparing to host the South American Common Market (Mercosur) Summit Wednesday and Thursday in Buenos Aires, during which he will have to welcome his Brazilian colleague Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with whom he does not see eye to eye after calling him names during the 2023 campaign.

Also attending the event will be Paraguay’s Santiago Peña, Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi, Bolivia’s Luis Arce Catacora, and possibly Chile’s Gabriel Boric Font.

The event, to be held at the Palacio San Martín (Argentina's Foreign Ministry), seeks to deepen regional integration, reduce economic asymmetries, and negotiate new trade agreements.

Amidst a complex regional context, Milei’s administration has prioritized a flexible Mercosur framework to enable bilateral trade deals, particularly with the United States, while critiquing internal mechanisms that limit competitiveness.

Tensions are notable, especially with Lula, whom Milei has called a “communist” and “corrupt,” straining Argentina-Brazil relations.

Uruguay’s Orsi seeks a more inclusive Mercosur vision. The summit occurs amid global geopolitical shifts, with the bloc aiming to address competitiveness, investment, and trade challenges, while Milei’s approach and bilateral meetings will shape the bloc’s future direction.

During Milei's first six months in office, Mercosur did not feature prominently in Argentine foreign policy. The libertarian government has promoted a more flexible vision of the bloc, aimed at unlocking bilateral free trade agreements, especially with the United States, one of the current administration's strategic priorities.

Since assuming the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur, Argentina has been pushing for a review of internal mechanisms that, in the ruling party's view, limit regional competitiveness and restrict multilateral negotiations.

In addition, Lula da Silva's presence in Buenos Aires amid the diplomatic chill between the two South American powers will take center stage, particularly since he said he intended to visit former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK), currently serving a six-year prison sentence for corruption under the house arrest modality.

The event will also serve as an opportunity for Milei to more clearly define his vision regarding regional partners. The tone of the opening speech, the bilateral meetings, and the final declaration of the summit will be key to gauging the political temperature of Mercosur in this new phase, as Peronism enters a phase of electoral definitions in a climate of mistrust, ahead of the Oct. 26 mid-term elections.