Brazil's foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to Argentina for consultations on July 26, triggering the most serious diplomatic rift between the two countries in years, after President Javier Milei hurled insults at President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a Supreme Court justice at the launch of Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign in São Paulo.

A ministry spokesperson said ambassador Julio Bitelli had been called back to Brasília for consultations following Milei's remarks at the Liberal Party convention on July 25, where the Argentine president had appeared alongside the senator as he was confirmed as the right-wing's candidate for October's election. Bitelli arrived in the Brazilian capital on July 27 morning and was due to brief foreign minister Mauro Vieira the same day, Infobae reported.

Separately, Brazil's foreign ministry summoned Argentina's ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Raimondi, to convey what it called the government's "repulsion" at Milei's remarks and to demand an explanation for his conduct, according to an official statement cited by AFP. The ministry said there was "no precedent" for such an "infamous episode," in which a foreign head of state had, on Brazilian soil, "accumulated aggressions and offences" against the country's president and other institutions.

Milei used his address at Bolsonaro’s convention to call Lula a "thief, convict and delinquent.” Milei also warned of a "Lula risk" facing Brazil's election, comparing it to what he has called the "Kuka risk" of Kirchnerism at home.

The Argentine libertarian separately lashed out at Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who had denied him permission to visit former president Jair Bolsonaro — the senator's father, under house arrest in Brasília while serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup following his 2022 election defeat. Milei branded Moraes as "bald piece of trash.”

Edson Fachin, president of the Supreme Federal Court, condemned the remarks as a "disrespectful reference to a magistrate of the highest court in the country, made on Brazilian soil," AP reported. Fachin said the court "deplored manifestations incompatible with the civility that should characterise relations between states."

Milei showed no sign of retreat on July 26, telling Argentine radio station Radio Mitre that Brasília had financed an "anti-Argentine campaign," without providing evidence. "Who put the most money into this anti-Argentine campaign? The Brazilian government. Twenty-five per cent of the resources came from the Brazilian government," he said, according to AFP, adding that he believed Mexican officials and members of the US Democratic Party had also funded the effort. He further alleged that Brazilians "sent by Lula" had worked against his own campaign ahead of his 2023 election victory.

The remarks drew rebukes from figures within Argentina. Former president Alberto Fernández posted a video on X accusing Milei of having "gone to Brazil shouting like a madman, demanding to see a coup plotter in jail," and describing the insults directed at "a sister nation and our main trading partner" as "unforgivable," AP reported. Axel Kicillof, the Peronist governor of Buenos Aires province and seen as a potential candidate in Argentina's next general election, said he had reached out to Vieira to convey that Milei "does not represent the feelings of the Argentine people." Kicillof added that Brazil was Argentina's principal trading partner and that Milei's "provocations" risked investment, exports and jobs in order to support "a candidate at Trump's behest.”

Vieira told Infobae that Milei had travelled to Brazil "on a private trip... to participate in a partisan event," and that his remarks amounted to interference in Brazil's internal affairs as well as an affront to its judiciary and its people. He described the episode as "an unprecedented provocation in the more than 200-year history of bilateral relations" and said Brazil would not be "intimidated" by "spokespeople of the extreme right," adding, "no one will win Brazil with lies."

Lula has not commented directly on Milei's remarks. Writing in an opinion article for The Washington Post published on July 26, he described the latest US tariffs against Brazil as "a strategic mistake" and said "Brazil's destiny is determined only by Brazilians, without external interference, without subservience.” Speaking separately at an event with trade unionists, Lula said Brazil would continue to be governed "without interference from anyone," adding that the country did not "accept anyone sticking their nose where they are not wanted.”

The dispute follows Brazil's decision on July 25 to deny visas to two US State Department officials who had sought to visit the country, a move for which the foreign ministry gave no explanation. Brasília has been at odds with the administration of President Donald Trump, a close ally of both Milei and the Bolsonaro family, since last year, after Washington imposed tariffs and sanctions that Brazilian officials have denounced as attempts at political interference.

Lula and Milei have had a cool relationship since the Argentine president took office in December 2023, having met only a few times at multilateral gatherings and never held bilateral talks; on his last visit to Argentina in 2025, Lula instead paid a visit to opposition leader Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was then under house arrest on corruption charges.

Itamaraty officials told Infobae that no further decisions regarding Argentina were likely before July 29, citing a diplomatic schedule that includes a visit by South Korean president Lee Jae-myung on July 27 and the inauguration of Peru's president, Keiko Fujimori, on July 28. One official said the ministry intended to wait "at least 48 hours" before deciding on any additional steps.