Milei and Bolsonaro lead summit of Latin American far-right in Brazil

The Argentine president, Javier Milei, and the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro are leading the meeting that some of the leaders of the far right in Latin America will have between Saturday and Sunday in the southern Brazilian town of Balneario Camboriú.

Both are the main speakers at the fifth meeting of the Latin American chapter of the Conservative Action Policy Conference (CPAC), considered the largest and most influential forum of conservatives and ultra-liberals in the world.

Bolsonaro is expected this Friday in this tourist resort on the coast of Santa Catarina, a Brazilian state bordering Argentina, while Milei, according to the Argentine Presidency, will disembark on Saturday night.

In addition to these two leaders, other Latin American right-wing figures expected during the two days of conferences are Chilean José Antonio Kast, leader of the Republican Action movement, founder of the Republican Party, who was defeated in the second round of the last presidential elections in Chile by Gabriel Boric.

Also expected to attend is the Minister of Justice and Public Security of El Salvador, Gustavo Villatoro, one of the main collaborators of the far-right president Nayib Bukele and responsible for the much praised and questioned policy of fighting crime in his country.

Mexico’s representative will be actor and singer Eduardo Verástegui, known for his radical campaign against the legalization of abortion.

The vast majority of the event’s participants, however, are leaders of Bolsonarism in Brazil, including the former president’s son, deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, as well as legislators Nikolás Ferreira, former Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, and pastor and senator Magno Malta.

Controversial visit

Milei’s decision to attend the meeting sparked controversy because the Argentine government announced at the same time that the president would not attend the Mercosur Summit, scheduled for Monday in Asunción, due to scheduling problems.

Members of the Brazilian government questioned Milei’s priorities and his decision to dedicate his first trip to Brazil since taking office in December to a private visit in which he will meet Bolsonaro, the main political adversary of the current head of state, the progressive leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Argentine presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni denied that Milei has a meeting planned with Bolsonaro, but such a meeting is considered certain and would take place at a private dinner that the governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Melo, intends to host on Saturday.

According to his spokesman, the only activities planned for the Argentine president in Brazil are a meeting with the governor of Santa Catarina and another with businessmen, in addition to his conference at the CPAC.

The libertarian leader has not yet had any meeting with Lula, with whom he has not even spoken by telephone.

Relations between the two have been null since Lula expressed his support in the electoral campaign for the Peronist candidate Sergio Massa, to which Milei responded by calling the Brazilian head of state “corrupt” and “communist”.

Last week, Lula said that he had not yet had contacts with Milei because he expects him to ask him “apologies”, both him and “to Brazil”, But Milei immediately responded that she cannot apologize for telling the truth.

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