“The Argentine people need Mercosur, and Mercosur needs the Argentine people. That’s what matters,” he stressed.

On Monday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva harshly criticized the absence of Argentine President Javier Milei at the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) summit held in Asuncion, Paraguay.

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“It’s an immense stupidity for a president of an important country like Argentina not to participate in the Mercosur meeting,” he said, adding that the other countries continue to work to strengthen Mercosur.

“I think the absence is sad for Argentina. Now, one thing is certain… we are going to try to strengthen Mercosur with Argentina because we believe in Argentina’s importance,” Lula pointed out.

“Argentina is an extremely important country for Mercosur’s success. And it doesn’t matter if the president participates or not. What matters is the following: the Argentine people need Mercosur, and Mercosur needs the Argentine people. That’s what matters,” the Brazilian president stressed.

Lula also criticized Milei’s participation in a meeting of far-right politicians organized by the family of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over the weekend in southern Brazil, where the Argentine president once again attacked socialism.

“No time should be wasted with such an unpleasant, anti-people, and anti-democratic far-right,” Lula da Silva said.

On Monday, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle also indirectly criticized Milei for his absence from the Mercosur summit in Asuncion. “If Mercosur is so important, all the presidents should be here. I do give importance to Mercosur,” he said.

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