The normalization of impeachment requests in Brazil

Impeachment is a powerful congressional weapon made to be deployed in only the most extreme cases. 

Brazil has used it twice since becoming a democracy in the 1980s — on both occasions, the ousted leaders periled after losing public support, facing dire economic realities, and being ostracized by Congress. 

But the political ground has shifted, and requests for impeachment have become trivialized in recent years. And while there is an argument to be made that impeachable offenses have often been committed, these requests have become a tool for political groups to play to the gallery rather than to hold those in power accountable for their actions.

One such example is the recent non-starter impeachment request against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, drafted by an embattled far-right congresswoman and co-signed by some 140 lawmakers (of the House’s 513). The motion argues that Lula violated the 1950 Impeachment Act for “committing an act of hostility against a foreign nation” after he compared Israel’s military operations in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Support for the motion is far below the 342 votes needed to actually vote for an impeachment trial. Moreover, Brazil’s better-than-expected economic performance and Lula’s popularity with the non-conservative electorate act as shields against ousting.

Gleisi Hoffmann, chairperson of Lula’s Workers’ Party, shrugged at the request, calling it a “normal” affair. “We did it all the time against [former President Jair] Bolsonaro,” she told reporters.

The impeachment request, however, became a political fact after it became known that more than 45 lawmakers who are members of center-right parties belonging to the Lula coalition were among its signatories.

Now, the government is looking for ways to punish them without further damaging the already fraught relationship it has had with Congress.

Understanding Brazil’s congressional fragmentation

Brazil has one of the world’s most fragmented legislatures in the world. Twenty parties are represented in Congress, and the country has more than nine “effective parties,” that is, the number of parties strong enough to sway congressional votes.

That forces presidents to form alliances with parties of different ideological biases to get a majority in Congress (albeit an unstable one) and guarantee governability. Back in 2009, Lula (then serving his second term) said Jesus would have to form a coalition with Judas if he wanted...