By Anderson Coelho
BALNEARIO CAMBORIU, Brazil (Reuters) – Argentinian President Javier Milei is set to speak on Sunday at a right-wing event in Brazil, potentially placing a further strain on relations between the two neighboring countries.
Milei arrived on Saturday at the beach resort of Balneario Camboriu in southern Brazil, where the CPAC Brasil 2024 event is being held. He was received with a hug by Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the last presidential race to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Milei maintains a tense relationship with Lula, who he called “corrupt” and a “communist” in a post on X last week. The leaders have not yet met, as the leftist leader says he wants Milei to apologize first.
CPAC Brasil is intended to drum up support for candidates of Bolsonaro’s party in this year’s municipal elections and project his influence ahead of the 2026 presidential race.
The event, billed as the first major opposition rally in the campaign for local mayoral elections in October, has also served to unite right-wing leaders in the Americas, with the presences of Milei and Chile’s former presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, who spoke on Saturday.
Speakers attacked Brazil’s current government and advocated what they see as Christian pro-life family values, and a ban on abortion, in speeches that were pro-gun and anti-drugs.
The crowd cheered Bolsonaro, saying they want him back in power, despite the fact that he has been banned from seeking elected office until 2030 for attacks on democracy.
Bolsonaro, who also spoke on Saturday, said the right-wing is gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and said he hoped that former U.S. president Donald Trump will be returned to the White House this year.
(Writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by David Holmes)
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