Brazil
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez criticized this Wednesday (6) Israel's stance in the Gaza Strip, but avoided repeating the term “genocide” used by President Lula (PT) and other critics of Tel Aviv. The statement came after a bilateral meeting and a joint statement with the Brazilian at the Palácio do Planalto.
Sánchez was asked directly if he agreed with the classification given by Lula, but he did not answer directly.
“After 30,000 deaths, we have reasonable doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law. I have already said this several times and whenever someone asks, I repeat it,” the Spaniard added, also referring to his description of a “devastation that puts the Gaza Strip in a situation that will take decades to rebuild.”
The Israeli government's response to Hamas' terrorist attacks has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with children and women making up the majority of the more than 30,000 dead. In his speech, Lula explained that 30 tons of food do not reach the region. Report from Sheet pointed out on Tuesday (5) that humanitarian aid packages sent by Brazil were blocked at the GazaEgypt border.
Lula also cited the attack in which the Israeli army shot civilians waiting for food. According to Hamas, more than 110 Palestinians died in the offensive. This reinforced comments that Tel Aviv was acting disproportionately in the conflict. Israel claimed responsibility for the deaths of 10 Palestinians and said the rest died as a result of the confusion and trampling that followed.
According to the Brazilian president, the attack was intended to sound like a call to humanity. “Let us not lose the humanism we carry within us, let us not be algorithms, let us be real people and realize that what is happening there is true.” [é] Genocide,” he said.
Pedro Sánchez comes to Brasília with a very economic agenda focused on investments in Brazil. Spain is the country's second largest investor, with companies in the banking, telephone and infrastructure sectors, among others. It is no coincidence that he traveled in the company of his Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo, not his Chancellor José Manuel Albares.
Sánchez also devised a script to meet only with leaders with whom he maintains some ideological identification. In addition to Brazil, he is also traveling to Chile to meet with progressive President Gabriel Boric.
Still in Brazil, Sánchez is spending Thursday (7) in São Paulo, but has no scheduled meeting with the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republican) who is considered the main political heir of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
The Spanish Prime Minister has added other events to his agenda to highlight his progressive qualities and his role as a leader against the far right: he is visiting an exhibition in the Senate about the antidemocratic attacks of January 8th. On Wednesday he has a meeting with the president of FUNAI at the Memorial dos Povos Indígenas.