Milei on Lula: released over a procedural flaw, not for being innocent
Argentine President Javier Milei repeated his accusations against Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, arguing that the corruption convictions once against him were annulled on formal grounds, in remarks that came just as Brazil's ambassador to Buenos Aires was preparing to return after being recalled for consultations.
Argentine President Javier Milei accused Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of being a thief and corrupt, stating that Lula was convicted and imprisoned over a procedural flaw rather than for being innocent. Milei made these claims in an interview broadcast by LN+, describing his remarks as spontaneous and within a regional ideological dispute.
Lula, however, holds no valid convictions and regained his political rights, being elected president in 2022. The legal sequence is more complex than described, with Lula convicted in 2017 and 2019 in the Lava Jato investigation, spending 580 days in detention before being released in November 2019 due to a Supreme Federal Court ruling.
In March 2021, Justice Edson Fachin annulled the convictions on jurisdiction grounds, a decision upheld by the full court. In June 2023, the court also annulled the evidence gathered by the Lava Jato team. The crisis escalated when Milei addressed the Liberal Party convention in São Paulo, calling Lula a thief, corrupt, and a convict, and insulting Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Brazil recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires and Bitelli in response.
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