Brazil’s Supreme Court Denies Javier Milei’s Request to Visit Jair Bolsonaro Amid Political Tensions

Original article: Portazo judicial a Milei: Corte Suprema brasileña le niega visita a Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Supreme Court slammed the door on Javier Milei by rejecting the Argentine president’s request for an audience with former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest in Brasília after being sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a failed conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2022 Brazilian elections. This coup attempt included plans to dissolve courts, empower the military, and assassinate the election winner and current head of state, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The rejection comes at a time of heightened political tensions in Brazil, just days before a convention that will endorse Flávio Bolsonaro, the ex-president’s son, as the far-right presidential candidate to face Lula in the upcoming elections on October 4. Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, ruled that political visits to the convicted former president are not permitted.

This judicial decision directly undermines the plans of the «libertarian» Javier Milei, who had confirmed his attendance at the Liberal Party event in São Paulo scheduled for Saturday, July 25, and intended to visit Bolsonaro at his residence, where he has been serving his sentence since March due to health reasons.

The prohibition stems from a 30-day ban on visits imposed by the judge as a penalty for Bolsonaro spreading a political manifesto via his son Flávio, violating a court order that prohibits him from communicating on social media, even through intermediaries.

This restriction, which will last until after the general elections in October, only allows exceptions for medical attention, physiotherapy sessions, and consultations with his legal defense.

Thus, Milei’s visit has been rendered null and void, as the formal request made by Bolsonaro’s lawyers for the meeting on July 25 at 4 PM—where he would have been accompanied by Argentinian Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, Chief of Staff Karina Milei, and an interpreter—lost all validity after Judge Moraes declared it moot.

The political future in Brazil is heading towards a direct confrontation between the far-right Flávio Bolsonaro and progressive leader Lula da Silva in October, while Argentine President Milei, who arrived in Brazil aiming to solidify his alliance with Bolsonaro, now faces a judicial setback.

Since 2023, Javier Milei and Jair Bolsonaro have presented themselves as ideological allies of the Latin American far-right, a bond solidified in July 2024 when the «libertarian» made his first visit to Brazil as President of Argentina to participate in the conservative forum CPAC in Balneário Camboriú.

During that visit, he denounced the “judicial persecution” that he claimed his «friend» Bolsonaro was facing following the attempted coup and other charges.