Milei leaves Brazil off the agenda and announces visits to Israel and the USA

Traditionally, the first trip an Argentine president makes upon being elected is to Brazil

Without including Brazil in the first international agendas after the victory against Sergio Massa, Javier Milei announced that the United States and Israel will be the first two destinations before taking office as president of Argentina, on December 10th. Milei had already said that if he became president he would not meet President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“My first trip will be to the USA”, said Milei on Monday, 20, in an interview with the broadcaster “Radio Mitre”, in which he commented that this visit “has a more spiritual connotation than other characteristics”, as he will travel to Miami and New York to visit rabbi friends. The president-elect, who confirmed that he will travel “in the next few days, before taking office”, will travel from New York to Israel, a trip about which, he said, he spoke with the Israeli ambassador to Argentina.

By tradition, the first trip an Argentine president makes upon being elected is to Brazil. However, during the campaign, Milei had anticipated that in his government foreign relations would focus on the USA and Israel and that he would not negotiate with “communist” countries, which included Brazil and China, Argentina’s two main trading partners.

On Sunday, Lula wished “luck” to the new Argentine government, without naming the winner, and said that Brazil, Argentina’s main trading partner, will always be willing to work with its “brothers” from the neighboring country.

Milei, who had already said that if he became president he would not meet Lula, invited his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro to attend the inauguration in person, during a video call this Monday. (WITH INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES)