A senior official in Brazil's government publicly insulted Argentine President Javier Milei after he announced plans to travel to São Paulo on July 25 to attend the launch of Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential candidacy ahead of Brazil's October 4 election. Guilherme Boulos, chief minister of the Secretariat General of the Presidency and a close Lula ally, wrote on X: "What does this imbecile think he has to teach the Brazilian people?" — also accusing Milei of extending the working day to twelve hours and seeking to legalise organ trafficking, claims that do not reflect current Argentine government policy. The episode sharpens tensions between the two largest members of Mercosur (South America's main trade bloc), whose governments hold sharply opposing ideological views, with Milei a longstanding backer of the Bolsonaro camp and Lula, who is seeking re-election, currently leading polls against his main rival.