Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at her Buenos Aires apartment on June 3, following his participation in the Mercosur Summit, marking a diplomatically charged moment during the regional summit.

The visit, approved by Federal Oral Court No.2 following a request by Kirchner's lawyer Carlos Alberto Beraldi, came as Kirchner serves a six-year sentence for corruption related to steering public road work projects to allies during her 2007-2015 presidency.

The encounter highlighted the stark ideological divisions within the Mercosur bloc, as Lula's visit to Kirchner contrasted sharply with his avoidance of Argentine President Javier Milei, who hosted the summit. The two leaders did not meet privately, reflecting their public feud in which Milei has labelled Lula as "communist" and "corrupt."

During the summit, Brazil assumed the rotating presidency of Mercosur, underscoring the bloc's continued operation despite political tensions between member nations. This marked Lula's first visit to Argentina since Milei's inauguration, emphasising the strained relationship between the leftist Brazilian leader and Argentina's right-wing libertarian president.

Kirchner's sentence, upheld by Argentina's Supreme Court in June, also bars her from holding public office, effectively ending her political career. The meeting between Lula and Kirchner signals the persistence on the side of South America’s left-wing political alliance to contest Milei’s governance, potentially deepening the rift between the Argentine and Brazilian leaders.