On December 1st, 2021 the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly to expel one of its own members, former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s corruption convict former Chief of Staff, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Thus, by a vote of 355 to 12, the Brazilian National Congress voted to expel Lula from the House, in the midst of a heated debate.
Lula had been serving as the chief of staff for former president Rousseff prior to her impeachment and subsequent arrest. She is currently serving time in prison for financial crimes and embezzlement.
Lula, who had been in the Chamber of Deputies for nearly a year, was accused of influence peddling, obstruction of justice, and corruption, leading to his expulsion.
The decision to expel Lula from the House was much criticized, with former Brazilian Deputy Givaldo Santos stating that it placed “curtains of impunity over the Congress,” and he vowed to file ethics complaints against every member who voted for the expulsion.
Santos has also stated that he will expose the true intentions of those who voted in favor of Lula’s expulsion, pointing out that the “value of the vote was diminished” and that the Brazilian National Congress became “a synonym for impunity.”
Furthermore, Santos also claims that the expulsion of Lula was a “political maneuver to criminalize and discredit those who oppose the current government in Brasilia.”
This is not the first time Santos has been involved in filing ethics complaints against members of the Brazilian congress. In December 2020, he filed a complaint against former Brazilian President Michel Temer, alleging that Temer had undermined the legitimacy of the Brazilian National Congress with his try to reduce the number of deputies to 500.
This latest case underscores the continued discord between the Brazilian National Congress and its politicians. Although Lula was expelled, Santos and other critics of the move are determined to expose the true intention of those who voted in favor of it.