(Balneário Camboriú) Argentine head of state Javier Milei denounced on Sunday the alleged “judicial persecution” against former president Jair Bolsonaro, during a conference of conservatives in Brazil where he denounced left-wing governments in the region.
“Look at the judicial persecution suffered by our friend Jair Bolsonaro here in Brazil,” Milei said to the applause of thousands of supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Balneario Camboriu, in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
On his first visit to Brazil, the ultra-liberal Milei snubbed leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with whom he exchanged grievances, and preferred to meet Mr Bolsonaro and the conservative governors of the states of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Melo, and São Paulo, Tarcisio Freitas.
The Argentine head of state attacked the “bloody dictatorship” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and launched into a long diatribe against “impoverishing socialism” in the region.
“I want to tell you that the wind of change is blowing in the world, that the ideas of impoverishing socialism have failed and people know it,” he said.
Citing Brazil, Mr Milei also said that some countries commit “aberrations” against freedom of expression.
CPAC brought together thousands of supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), such as representatives of the agricultural sector and anti-abortion activists.
The crowd also included lookalikes of Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Milei, an AFP video journalist noted.
On Saturday, the former Brazilian president was hailed as the right’s only choice, despite his disqualification for the 2026 presidential election and the accumulation of legal problems he faces.
“Despite the problems […] – I still have some 300 trials – we are not going to back down,” Mr Bolsonaro assured a euphoric crowd.
Last week, Brazil’s federal police recommended indicting the former president on money laundering and other charges as part of an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of jewelry donated by Saudi Arabia.
And he is still awaiting the results of an investigation into the alleged falsification of COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
Jair Bolsonaro is also under investigation for the ransacking of places of power in Brasilia by thousands of his supporters in January 2023 and for an “attempted coup” to maintain himself in power.