Brazil’s Bolsonaro endorses Argentina’s IMF negotiations, confirms meeting with Alberto Fernández

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina’s ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Scioli, has confirmed that Brazilian President Bolsonaro will endorse Argentina in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and announced that the country’s president will travel to Buenos Aires to meet with President Fernández. He said that the first in-person meeting between the two presidents will take place on the 30th anniversary of MERCOSUR’s official foundation.

Scioli made the announcement on Twitter in a message reporting that the first in-person meeting between Bolsonaro and Fernández will take place later this month. The meeting between the members of the trade bloc will be held in the Argentine capital, which will now also be attended by the Brazilian president.

“President @jairbolsonaro endorsed Argentina’s negotiations with the IMF, and confirmed that he will be in Buenos Aires on March 26th, where he will take part in the celebrations of MERCOSUR’s 30th anniversary and will have his first in-person meeting with @alferdez,” Scioli posted on Twitter.

In the video posted by Scioli, Bolsonaro can be heard confirming his visit to Buenos Aires: “On March 26th I will be in Buenos Aires, in our beloved Argentina. We will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the foundation of MERCOSUR. The Covid-19 has caused economic distress all over the world. Our wish is for Argentina to succeed in its negotiations with the IMF.”

“Argentina’s financial situation is quite complex. The economic success of South American countries and Argentina is in the interest of the whole of South America, including Brazil. This will be the first time we will meet with the president of Argentina. Obviously, we will have a private conversation and we will publicly discuss our countries’ economic issues,” said the Brazilian president.

Bolsonaro will land in Buenos Aires on March 26th to attend a summit organized by Argentina as it holds the MERCOSUR pro tempore presidency, and as such is in charge of the regional bloc’s business agenda.

It will be Bolsonaro’s first trip to Argentina, as well as the first time he will meet Alberto Fernández in person, given that because of the coronavirus pandemic the two leaders have only been able to dialogue by videoconference.

Both leaders have deep ideological and personal differences and have been involved in disagreements even before the Argentine took charge of the Casa Rosada.

Along these lines, Fernández took part in an online meeting from Mexico in recent weeks with leaders of the Brazilian PT (Workers’ Party) led by Bolsonaro’s main rival, Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva. Hours earlier, Bolsonaro again challenged the Argentine administration by retweeting an article published by the Brazilian newspaper O Globo with the headline: “Epidemic of disillusionment: Argentina’s upper-middle class seeks to emigrate to escape the crisis.”

“Brazil voted for Bolsonaro, and that is its right. As it is mine to support Lula. Meanwhile, Brazil and Argentina are strategic partners and that should not change,” assured Fernández before meeting with entrepreneurs at the Intercontinental Hotel in Mexico City.

For his part, the Brazilian president said that “we have prepared for the worst” when his Argentine counterpart took office, while at the same time criticizing the Argentine government’s decision to shelter ex-president of Bolivia Evo Morales.

The diplomatic skill of the Argentine ambassador to Brasília, Daniel Scioli, was the key that opened the door for Bolsonaro’s decision to visit the country, according to the sources.

In addition to the meeting of Foreign Ministers and the four presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, there will be a business forum that began to be organized on Wednesday, March 3rd; as well as a citizen’s forum and an academic forum.

Moreover, the MERCOSUR citizenship statute will be introduced, which reviews the rights of the bloc’s citizens in terms of health, education, certification and validation of diplomas, driver’s license and passport.

On March 26th, 1991, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay signed the Treaty of Asunción, which began an institutional structure establishing the free trade area known as MERCOSUR in Spanish and MERCOSUL in Portuguese.