Brazil's Supreme Court bars Milei from visiting Bolsonaro

Brazil's Supreme Court denied Argentine President Javier Milei authorization to visit former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest. The court confirmed this decision on Saturday, July 18, through a resolution obtained by the AFP news agency.

Milei announced he would attend Bolsonaro's Liberal Party convention in Sao Paulo on July 25. The event is expected to feature the official proclamation of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president's son, as a candidate. However, Justice Alexandre de Moraes has imposed a 30-day visiting ban on the former president as a penalty for disseminating a political letter via his son. This action allegedly violated a court order prohibiting communication on social media, even through third parties.

Bolsonaro, 71, is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a 2022 coup to prevent the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from taking office. He has been serving his sentence at home in Brasilia since March due to health reasons. Moraes also ruled that Bolsonaro cannot receive visitors for "political-electoral purposes" until after the general elections in October. He is also forbidden from disseminating political manifestos through any means, even with assistance.

Flávio Bolsonaro criticized the general visiting ban as an "abuse" in a video shared on X, accusing Moraes of acting with political motivation. Bolsonaro's lawyers had requested authorization for Milei's visit on July 25 at 4:00 PM, along with a delegation including Argentina's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, Presidential Secretary Karina Milei, and an interpreter. Moraes ruled that this request was moot due to the general visiting ban that took effect the previous day.

Bolsonaro's lawyer, Joao Henrique de Freitas, questioned the sequence of decisions on X. He stated that the defense requested authorization for Milei's visit on Friday afternoon, and hours later, the general suspension of visits was imposed. He also criticized the "motivation and proportionality" of the measure, citing "convenient coincidences" in the timing of events. Flávio Bolsonaro is set to compete against the leftist Lula, who is seeking re-election, in October.

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