‘Ignoramus.’ ‘Fascist.’ Latin diplomacy devolves into schoolyard taunts
Forget black-tie dinners or summits at picturesque locales. The irascible leaders of some of Latin America’s biggest countries are instead taking a decidedly disdainful approach to diplomatic relations. In a region far from global conflicts, presidents here are instead embroiled in the kind of verbal spats commonly found on schoolyards—a war of words playing out on television and via posts on X.
“Ignoramus," Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, said last week of his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “Fascist," López Obrador shot back. And Venezuela’s government—never apprehensive about issuing put-downs—had caustic words for those criticizing strongman Nicolás Maduro, who last month blocked popular opposition figures from running against him in July’s presidential election.
“Shove your opinions wherever you can fit them," Foreign Minister Yván Gil said, directing his ire at two normally friendly presidents, Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after they weighed in gingerly against the measure. Argentina’s Milei, a libertarian economist who’s not one for speaking softly and carrying a big stick, tends to find himself in the middle of most every melee. After all, he has lashed out at leftist opponents in Argentina as “useless parasites" and “human excrement." During last year’s presidential campaign, he deployed a chain saw to show how he’d destroy old institutions.
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