The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentina, Javier Milei, have not yet spoken to each other and have not yet met in person since the Argentine took office just over three months ago. Milei has already made three international trips (Davos Economic Forum, Israel and Italy, including the Vatican), but does not appear to have plans to visit Brazil, breaking a tradition of Argentine presidents who sought to have Brasília as their first international destination. The expectation is that they will see each other at the Mercosur meeting, in July, in Asunción, Paraguay.
But the lack of dialogue between them has not impeded the fluidity of the bilateral relationship – and on several fronts. On Wednesday, the national civil aviation agencies of the two countries (in both countries they are called Anac) signed an ‘open skies’ memorandum of understanding. The agreement will enable new bilateral routes between companies that already carry out these operations or other companies. With this understanding, the limit on flights currently carried out between the two countries comes to an end. The expectation is that new services and greater competition will emerge, which could lead to reduced prices for consumers with the possible greater number of flight offers.
Brazilian tourists are leaders in the ranking of international travelers in Argentina. The same occurs in Brazil, where Argentine tourists are the main among foreigners arriving in Brazilian territory. Currently, flights are already being carried out that go beyond the traditional Rio-Buenos Aires-Rio or São Paulo-Buenos Aires-São Paulo. Cases of flights between Mendoza and Búzios or Buenos Aires and Brasília, for example. But with the ‘open skies’ policy the scope of flights can be expanded, according to experts on the subject.
The Milei government has just appointed Argentina’s new ambassador to Brazil. Career diplomat Daniel Raimondi, ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), is expected to arrive in Brasília in May. In a conversation in his office, the Brazilian ambassador in Buenos Aires, Julio Bitelli, noted that the bilateral relationship flows in its various areas (despite the explicit differences between the two presidents).
“Clearly, governments have world views that are not equal. But the relationship has flown absolutely normally with the new Argentine government in all sectors. Defense, security, energy, agriculture..” said Bitelli. For Bitelli, bilateral cooperation can only grow, as in the case of agriculture. “Despite the appearance of competition, the space for cooperation is greater and I feel, on both sides, a lot of interest in deepening this cooperation”, said the ambassador.
He highlighted, when asked, that there is no attitude from the Milei government to bar Brazilians or, specifically, Brazilian students, from Argentina. Citing figures gathered by the Brazilian Consulate, Bitelli said that 38 students returned home in the first month of the year. That number, he noted, was exactly the same as January of last year. He recalled that those who embark as students must have a visa for this purpose. And those who embark as tourists must have a return ticket, respecting international rules.
Milei’s plan is for public universities to start charging tuition fees from foreign students – Brazilians, Colombians and Ecuadorians are among the main ones. But nothing has changed in relation to the requirements to study at the country’s public university network, until now. Here I have heard two arguments from rectors of federal universities. “The arrival of foreign university students enriches our culture and our laws do not allow this charge,” said a dean. “The charge, even if symbolic, would be fair so that we can invest in the university itself. But clearly foreigners, especially Brazilians, are very welcome,” said another.
In addition to the possibility of more flights and the flow of Brazilian students here, there is the strong presence of authorities from the agricultural sector and Brazilian producers in the sector at the Expoagro mega-exhibition, held last week and defined as one of the largest agricultural exhibitions in the world. The Secretary of Commerce and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) of Brazil, Roberto Perosa, said that Argentina is “a great commercial partner of Brazil and we continue this good commercial relationship with Argentina”.
Perosa participated in the inauguration of the agribusiness space at the Brazilian embassy, the agricultural attaché. The Brazilian attaché responsible for the sector, Andrea Parrilla, said that the inauguration and the space itself confirm the importance of the bilateral relationship. Parrilla said that this was the first complete work of an agricultural attaché among Brazil’s 29 embassies around the world.
“Which reflects the fluidity of the bilateral relationship between Brazil and Argentina,” she said. This week, the secretary general of Itamaraty, Maria Laura Rocha, was in Buenos Aires for meetings with her Argentine counterparts. Everything (or almost everything) seems to be on track for the two main partners in South America, despite the profound silence in direct communication between the two presidents.