BUENOS AIRES/SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Argentine President Alberto Fernandez traveled to Brazil on Monday to meet President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and congratulate him on Sunday's election win, calling him a "partner to work with and dream big with."
Lula's win consolidates a new "pink tide" of leftist electoral gains in Latin America. Argentina's Peronist leader promptly celebrated the election result, having had a tense relationship with right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro over the past four years.
"(Lula's) victory ushers in a new era for the history of Latin America. A time of hope and future that begins today," Fernandez said on Twitter. "Here you have a partner to work with and dream big with for the well-being of our nations."
The victory of 77-year-old Lula could prompt a stronger relationship between the two neighbors once Lula takes office on Jan. 1.
"Argentina and Brazil represent a very high level of South American GDP," Fernandez said on Argentina's Radio 10 on Sunday night, ahead of his trip to Brazil's financial capital Sao Paulo.
He said Lula was "a really unique and impressive leader, who has had a very tough time" - a reference to the 19 months Lula spent in jail for bribery convictions, which were overturned by the Brazilian Supreme Court last year.
Lula's first international visit ahead of his inauguration will be to Argentina, Fernandez told reporters later, following his meeting with the incoming Brazilian president.
(Reporting by Lucila Sigal and Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Rosalba O'Brien)
