Brasilia, Brazil — Brazilian pollsters largely predicted a first-round victory for former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, but incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro far exceeded expectations. He outperformed, pushing left-wing opponents into a run-off vote at the end of the month.
But to many international observers, it may seem strange that Lula is even running for office, given his recent conviction for corruption.
“I expected corruption charges [against Lula] to play a bigger role than them. But they certainly had some influence over voters.
Cortez also noted that Lula is very popular in elite circles. Ultimately, he makes significant financial and media contributions to his campaign.
The charges against Lula and the Workers’ Party stem from a widespread influence peddler and kickback scheme carried out by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Odebrecht has been accused of generously funding political parties across Latin America in exchange for lucrative construction and infrastructure contracts.
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Marcelo Odebrecht alleged that Lula lobbied foreign governments on behalf of the company in exchange for bribes. The company said he distributed more than $230 million in bribes to politicians across the region.
Following Odebrecht’s initial investigation, Brazilian police launched an investigation into Lula and the Workers’ Party in connection with a similar scheme involving state-owned oil company Petrobras, which led to Lula’s election campaign in exchange for preferential treatment. claimed to have funded
Investigators uncovered a massive scheme to channel money from the country’s largest corporations into the Workers’ Party coffers via kickbacks and bribes. His Joao Vaccari Neto, the Finance Minister of the Workers’ Party, has been charged with bribery and money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
As the investigation loomed over Lula and her entourage, President Dilma Rousseff (who succeeded Lula as president) said he would not be able to defend himself because certain public officials enjoy limited immunity from prosecution under Brazilian law. appointed him as chief of staff to defend against prosecution. Ultimately, a Brazilian judge dismissed his appointment, viewing it as a veiled attempt to avoid prosecution.
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In September 2016, the ball dropped as Lula was accused of leading the entire scheme and indicted on corruption charges in Curitiba, Paraná, under the auspices of Judge Sergio Moro.
Lula and Rusev called on their supporters to take to the streets to protest the politically motivated persecution and what they had seen.
At one time, Lula faced as many as nine criminal charges, but was ultimately convicted of corruption and money laundering charges related to the $1.2 million renovation of a beachfront apartment by Grupo OAS Construction Company. Convicted. Obtained a large contract from Petrobras, which Lula planned.
The case eventually went to Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, where a narrow 6-5 judgment upheld his conviction and ordered him to start serving his sentence.
Lula’s imprisonment sparked a massive “Lula Livre” or campaign to free Lula, leading to an investigation into Judge Moro’s tactics.
Ultimately, Lula was not acquitted of the corruption charges. His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Federal Court, where he was overturned on two professional grounds. The first alleges that Judge Moro acted inappropriately in contact with the prosecution during Lula’s trial; He argued that he had no legal standing to go to court. at the time.
On April 15, 2021, the Supreme Federal Court, in an 8-3 ruling, upheld an earlier ruling voiding his conviction on this ground. Lula served only 580 days of his 12-year sentence.
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The Bolsonaro campaign argues that the Supreme Court is biased because the overwhelming majority of its 11 judges were appointed by the Labor presidential government.
Labor activists may believe Lula’s innocence, but few Brazilians believe Lula did nothing wrong. , Lula remains likely to head into the runoff vote at the end of the month.
Brazilians seem to largely believe that all politicians are corrupt. Lula’s life-size personality seems to have been confirmed by the fashions that have put him well above his lists of congressional and gubernatorial candidates.
Political analyst Flavio Morgenstern told Fox News Digital why Lula remains popular with voters. mythical past. ”
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Morgenstern also said Lula would maintain cooperation with the United States despite his background. [in the U.S.] It has always been purely economic.” But “Lula’s friends are enemies even to the American left…the communist dictatorships of Latin America, China, Russia and the Palestinian authorities.”
Still, Lula, 76, was still the leading voter in Sunday’s first poll as he enters the run-off as the favorite for President Bolsonaro. This is because many Brazilians voted for center-right or right-wing congressional and gubernatorial candidates, but still swung left for him in the presidential election.