A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has rejected a request for Argentine President Javier Milei to visit former President Jair Bolsonaro while he is under house arrest. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who chaired the trial that sentenced Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison over a coup attempt, denied the request for a meeting that was intended to take place in Brasilia on July 25.
The decision comes as Justice Moraes ruled on Friday to suspend Bolsonaro from receiving visits for a 30-day period, allowing only lawyers and medical care. Moraes stated that the former president is already barred from visits of a political-electoral nature. This follows a precedent set in March when a request by U.S. State Department official Darren Beattie to visit Bolsonaro was also denied.
President Milei is expected to attend the Liberal Party convention in Sao Paulo to certify Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president's son, as its candidate against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This occurs amidst a frosty relationship between Lula and Milei, as the Brazilian president is a historical ally of Milei's adversaries, including former presidents Cristina Fernández and Alberto Fernández.