A majority in Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the decision to overturn criminal convictions against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, against the presidency against current President Jair Bolsonaro in 2022.
The decision, which was widely expected, came after Supreme Court Judge Edson Fachin ruled in early March that the lower federal court where Lula was tried had no jurisdiction, a ruling that was quickly appealed by the Brazil’s top prosecutor. Read more
Lula, 75, ruled Latin America’s largest country and largest economy between 2003 and 2011, overseeing a boom in commodities that fueled economic growth.
In 2018 he was convicted of bribing engineering companies in exchange for public contracts and spent a year and a half behind bars, until the Supreme Court ruled that he and others could appeal their cases without meeting time. .
Lula and his supporters attacked the anti-corruption task force that brought him down, called Operation Car Wash, as a political effort. The leaked conversations in 2019 raised questions about whether researchers had cut corners to ensure processes. The working group disbanded in February.
With the sentences thrown, Lula is eligible to run again and is the favorite among Bolsonaro’s opponents to take on the right-wing leader in 2022. Early polls show a tight race.
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