Buenos Aires Herald · October 26, 2026

Milei did not congratulate Lula on his reelection and was the only South American president to remain silent

Argentine President Javier Milei was the only South American leader who did not publicly congratulate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva following his reelection in Brazil, the Buenos Aires Herald reported. Nor did Donald Trump, an ally of the Argentine president, who—like Milei—had backed Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff election. Lula won with 51.8% of the vote, compared to 48.2% for his rival, who did not recognize the result and announced that he would seek to have it annulled.

The newspaper recalled the clash between the two leaders: Last July, Milei traveled to Brazil to support Jair Bolsonaro’s candidacy and, during that event, referred to Lula—without naming him—as a thief and a former convict, which led to a diplomatic crisis involving the recall of the Brazilian ambassador in Buenos Aires and a request for an explanation from the Argentine representative.

Via Buenos Aires Herald