Javier Milei and figures close to his government criticized Brazilian congressman André Janones after he arrived in Argentina, with the president sharing social media posts accusing Brazilian political figures of interfering in the country’s elections.
Janones arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday, a year before Argentina’s next election. He said he wanted to “take some of the techniques” associated with Lula’s victory over Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil. Janones is known for running the WhatsApp channel Exército do Lula, which sent political and digital campaign tasks to supporters. He repeated one of its guidelines in an interview with Argentine broadcaster C5N: supporters should not interact with pro-Bolsonaro content on social media, or even read it, so platforms would register it as irrelevant.
Milei reposted several critical messages on X. One said Peronists were asking Brazilians to teach them how to campaign while claiming to defend national sovereignty. Another, attributed to economist Felipe Núñez, called the visitors “100% lobotomized.” The account Escuela Austríaca de Economía described Brazilian campaign strategists as “mercenaries” and criticized their meetings with Argentine politicians.
Influencer Daniel Parisini, known online as Gordo Dan, also accused the Argentine left of bringing Brazilian figures to help it win elections. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said Janones’s visit had been predictable, while presidential adviser Santiago Caputo posted that technology could not rescue a poor message. Caputo later wished the visitors luck in persuading Argentines that they were not “a bunch of criminals.”
Before appearing on television, Janones met former economy minister Sergio Massa and former president Cristina Kirchner. Massa lost to Milei in the 2023 presidential runoff and is seeking to become the opposition’s candidate in next year’s election. Kirchner, who was president from 2007 to 2015, is under house arrest while seeking to regain her political rights.
The visit also revived an accusation, repeated by Milei without evidence, that Lula financed Massa’s 2023 campaign. The claim has been linked to the presence of advertising professionals connected to Brazil’s Workers’ Party in Massa’s campaign team, alongside strategists from other countries. Economist Pablo Wende mocked the allegation in a post that Milei shared, sarcastically suggesting that Lula would fund the Kirchnerist campaign next year.
The story unfolded amid a separate controversy over Flávio Bolsonaro’s reported departure for the United States from Puerto Iguazú. Argentine media have reported that Caputo monitored the operation and was stopped at a road checkpoint the following day. Opposition figures have called for explanations and filed complaints over possible government involvement. Asked whether Milei knew about the operation, government spokesperson Adrián Ravier said, “I don’t know,” and stated that the government considered the matter closed. He said there had been no international arrest request and no irregularity in Flávio Bolsonaro’s entry into Argentina or his trip to the United States via Ecuador.
Brazil said it had summoned Argentina’s chargé d’affaires in Brasília, María Emilia Cortés, for an explanation on Thursday, after relations were downgraded following Milei’s attacks on Brazilian officials. The Casa Rosada denied that the summons took place.
Sources: Folha Mundo.