Brazil Recalls Ambassador, Summons Argentine Envoy in Worst Diplomatic Crisis in Years

Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina on Sunday and summoned Argentina’s envoy in Brasília for an official explanation, marking the sharpest diplomatic rift between South America’s two largest economies in years. The measures, ordered by Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, follow a speech by Argentine President Javier Milei on Saturday in São Paulo. Milei used the event—a convention formalizing Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential candidacy—to defend his government’s alignment with the United States and Israel, and to again criticize Brazil’s judiciary for barring him from visiting former President Jair Bolsonaro. Ambassador Julio Bitelli has been called back to Brasília for consultations. Argentina’s ambassador, Daniel Raimondi, has been summoned to Brazil’s Foreign Ministry to provide explanations. The moves signal a serious deterioration in relations between the Mercosur partners.