Will Lula’s statements about Israel be enough for impeachment?

The recent statement by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) comparing Israel’s reaction against Hamas to the Holocaust generated a major repercussion in national politics and foreign relations with the Middle Eastern country, and led to a request for impeachment filed by federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP).

The parliamentarian states that Lula’s statement constitutes a crime of responsibility in accordance with Article 5 of the Federal Constitution. It accuses the president of “committing an act of hostility against a foreign nation, exposing the Republic to the danger of war, or compromising its neutrality”.

In your opinion, will Lula’s statements about Israel be enough to open an impeachment process? Respond to the poll People’s Gazette below:

“Lula encourages racial insults and commits a crime of responsibility provided for in article 5 of the Federal Constitution, which also corroborates the speech of the Prime Minister of Israel who immediately demonstrated his vehement rejection. This gives rise to the request for impeachment that we are presenting against our nation’s leader, who exposed us to the danger of war, as a measure of the application of the most complete and urgent justice”, explained Carla Zambelli in a note sent to People’s Gazette.

The impeachment request has already been signed by more than one hundred parliamentarians, including parties that are part of the government base with seats on the Esplanade of Ministries, such as União Brasil (Tourism, Communications and Integration and Regional Development), PSD (Agriculture, Fisheries and Mines and Energy), Republicans (Ports and Airports) and PP (Sport).

Lula’s speech generated a great reaction both from the Israeli government, which considered him a “persona non grata”, and from the Brazilian opposition and entities linked to the Jewish community. A former spokesperson for the Israeli government even recalled the similar crisis experienced in 2014 that generated the expression “diplomatic dwarf”, and former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) himself also recalled the visit he made to Israel, classifying the relationship as “sister nations”.