Brazilian President Lula da Silva plans a solidarity visit to former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires after her six-year prison sentence, reinforcing progressive unity amid political persecution in Latin America.

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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is set to travel to Buenos Aires in early July to meet with former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. This visit comes just weeks after Kirchner was sentenced to six years of house arrest and permanently barred from holding public office following a controversial Supreme Court ruling on corruption charges.

The meeting, confirmed by Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) leader Paulo Pimenta, marks a significant moment of regional leftist solidarity.

Lula and Kirchner share a longstanding political and personal bond rooted in their leadership during the early 2000s, a period marked by progressive reforms across Latin America. Both leaders have faced judicial processes widely denounced by their supporters as politically motivated attempts to sideline influential left-wing figures.

Lula’s imprisonment from 2018 to 2019, later overturned by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, parallels Kirchner’s current house arrest and legal battles.

Jueces que asumen por decreto y le quitan el voto a millones. No hablen de justicia.

La proscripción de Cristina, líder de la oposición, es igual a lo ocurrido con Lula. Era inocente y los jueces lo tuvieron que reconocer.

Sin Poder Judicial independiente no hay democracia. pic.twitter.com/v5pbEHKhyH

— Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (@PrensaPEsquivel) June 10, 2025

The text reads: Judges who take office by decree and take away the vote from millions. Don’t talk about justice.
The proscription of Cristina, leader of the opposition, is the same as what happened with Lula. He was innocent, and the judges had to acknowledge it.
Without an independent judiciary, there is no democracy.

The visit is part of a broader campaign led by Argentina’s Justicialist Party under the banner “Cristina Libre,” inspired by the “Lula Livre” movement that successfully campaigned for Lula’s release.

Massive demonstrations in Buenos Aires, including the recent rally in Plaza de Mayo, underscore the popular rejection of Kirchner’s sentence and the demand for justice. Kirchner herself sent a defiant message from her home detention, stating, “They can imprison me, but not the Argentine people,” and rallying supporters with the slogan, “We will return.”

Before confirming his visit, Lula spoke with Kirchner by phone, praising her “serenity and determination” amid what he described as an unjust situation. He encouraged her to remain strong during these challenging times, a message widely shared on social media by both leaders and their supporters.

Lula’s visit is expected to coincide with the Mercosur summit in Buenos Aires, where regional leaders will convene. However, as in 2019 when then-Argentine President Alberto Fernández visited Lula in prison without engaging with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro government, Lula is unlikely to hold bilateral talks with Argentina’s current president, Javier Milei, beyond official summit activities. This reflects ongoing political tensions between progressive and right-wing factions in the region.

The solidarity between Lula and Kirchner exemplifies the resilience of Latin America’s leftist movements in the face of judicial persecution and political repression. Their alliance continues to inspire grassroots mobilizations and international calls for justice, democracy, and social progress across the continent.

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