MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine lawmakers travel to Brasília to repair relations with Brazil

Among the Argentine interests he considers to be at stake, Massot cited the functioning of Mercosur and Brazil's backing for Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands.

A delegation of Argentine deputies and senators from opposition parties will travel to Brasília next Wednesday with the aim of repairing bilateral relations, strained since President Javier Milei referred to his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in offensive terms. The group is due to meet the Brazilian Senate's foreign relations committee, the foreign ministry and representatives of the presidency.

“We are travelling to Brasília to hold meetings within the framework of parliamentary diplomacy,” announced deputy Nicolás Massot, of the Encuentro Federal bloc, during a session of the Chamber of Deputies. He argued that “there is no electoral mandate, however strong, that allows the executive to trample forty years of strategic bilateral relations,” and described the deterioration of ties with the country's main trading partner as irresponsible.

Among the Argentine interests he considers to be at stake, Massot cited the functioning of Mercosur and Brazil's backing for Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands.

The announcement came on the same day the Chamber of Deputies debated a proposed declaration condemning the insults and reaffirming the strategic character of the bilateral relationship, which also called for Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno to appear before Congress. The text received 128 votes in favour, 108 against and 9 abstentions. As it was not on the session's agenda, it required the backing of two-thirds of those present, and therefore failed despite holding a simple majority.

The crisis began on July 25, when Milei took part in São Paulo in the event proclaiming Flávio Bolsonaro as the Liberal Party's presidential candidate. There he referred to Lula as a “thief” and a “convict” and used disparaging language about a judge of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court. Brasília recalled its ambassador in Buenos Aires for consultations on July 26 and on August 4 downgraded relations to chargé d'affaires level, also requesting the return of Argentina's ambassador, who has not yet resumed his duties.

The composition of the delegation has not been finalised. Organisers expect the participation of lawmakers from the Unión Cívica Radical, the Socialist Party, the Coalición Cívica and the Partido Justicialista, among other forces, representing around 60% of the parties holding parliamentary seats. Massot stressed the initiative would be institutional in character and did not seek “any partisan intervention.”

The trip will take place a little over a month before Brazil's presidential elections, scheduled for October 4. The Argentine government has not commented on the initiative.