The president Javier Milei harshly criticized the corrupt and thieving Brazilian dictator Lula da Silva, and once again referred to his judicial situation.
During an interview, the Argentine leader not only reaffirmed his criticisms but also emphasized the reason why the leader of the Workers' Party regained his freedom after being convicted in the context of the Lava Jato Operation.
“He is a thief, he is corrupt. He was convicted. He was in prison, so it is true that he is a convict. He was released due to an administrative error, not because he is innocent. Therefore, he is a thief and he is corrupt,” Milei stated during an interview with Luis Majul on LN+.
Javier Milei and Lula da Silva
In this regard, the head of state defended his position. “Don’t you think it is aggressive for someone to steal? It is much milder to call a thief a thief than the act of stealing itself,” he argued, justifying his labels towards the Brazilian leader.
Milei also asserted that his statements were “spontaneous” and linked them to his ideological positioning. “When I started this campaign in 2021, there was only one blue country and everything else was red. The thing is, you can’t see it on the map because Brazil is red. I do this because I am a crusader for the ideas of freedom,” he pointed out.
Furthermore, the Argentine president questioned the unequal media treatment regarding political clashes in the region. “By the way, they get angry because I said something to Lula that is true and they omit Lula's and his ministers' insults, they omit the insults that Petro received, those from Evo Morales, those from Correa, those from Pedro Sánchez and his people. When they insult me, it’s fine. Now, if I respond, it’s wrong,” he expressed.
Lula da Silva
In the same vein, he criticized the Brazilian leader for intervening in the regional political arena. He argued that Lula acts by “contaminating with the filthy ideas of socialism everywhere” and reiterated his arguments: “They accuse with lies and I respond with truths. And when I respond with the truths to Mr. Lula, who feels very touched when I tell him he is a thief. Yes, he is a thief. When I say he is a convict. Yes, he was a convict and yes, he was released due to an administrative resource, not because he is innocent.”
The conviction against Lula da Silva
Milei's references relate to the judicial case that involved Lula in the Lava Jato Operation, the largest anti-corruption investigation in Brazil. The leftist leader was convicted twice for corruption and money laundering, in 2017 and 2019, and remained in prison for 580 days between 2018 and 2019.
However, in March 2021, the judge of the Supreme Federal Court Edson Fachin annulled the convictions for strictly procedural reasons, considering that the Curitiba court lacked jurisdiction to judge the cases.
The decision was subsequently upheld by the Brazilian Supreme Court, which determined that the cases should be processed in another jurisdiction. The annulment, in this context, did not imply a ruling on innocence, but rather on the competence of the court that had issued the sentences.
Later, the highest court also advanced on the validity of the evidence collected during the investigation, considering that it had not been obtained legally, which ultimately dismantled the cases.
