A majority in Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling overturning criminal convictions against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, launching a presidential election against current President Jair Bolsonaro in 2022.
The long-awaited decision came after Supreme Court Judge Edson Fachin ruled in early March that the lower federal court where Lula was tried has no jurisdiction, a decision that was quickly challenged by Brazil’s top prosecutor. . Read more
Lula, 75, ruled Latin America’s largest country and largest economy between 2003 and 2011, overseeing a commodity boom that fueled economic growth.
In 2018, he was convicted of taking bribes from engineering firms in exchange for public contracts and spent a year and a half behind bars, until the Supreme Court ruled that he and others could challenge their cases without delay. .
Lula and his supporters destroyed the anti-corruption workforce that knocked him down, called Operation Car Wash, as a politically driven effort. The conversations that took place in 2019 raised questions about whether investigators have cut corners to ensure prosecution. The working group was disbanded in February.
Given the convictions, Lula is eligible to run again and is the favorite among Bolsonaro’s opponents to take over the right-wing leader in 2022. Early polls show a tight race.
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