A majority of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday supported an earlier decision to overturn the criminal conviction of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. This certainly paves the way for Lula to take over current President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential election.
By eight votes to three, Brazil’s Supreme Court justices supported one of them, Edson Fachin, to overturn the corruption and money laundering convictions. Fashin ruled in early March that Judge Sergio Moro, who had convicted Lula in 2017 and 2018, had no jurisdiction to rule over the affairs of the former president because the charges were not directly related to the anti-corruption operation “ Lava Gato, the car wash. ”
Because of the decision in the plenum, the 75-year-old former Socialist president will eventually regain his political rights. This would allow him to run for the presidency in the 2022 elections and compete against the current far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula was president of Brazil between 2003 and 2011. In 2018, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption and money laundering. Because of that conviction and subsequent imprisonment, he was unable to participate in the presidential elections while he was at the forefront of the polling stations. Bolsonaro won and the judge who sentenced Lula was his justice minister until last year. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Morrow was biased in Lula’s trials. He is said to have inappropriately influenced the investigation of the former president and instructed prosecutors.
He accused Lula of receiving an apartment from a construction company, which he always denied. He claimed to be the victim of a political trial. Lula and his supporters have long accused Moro of participating in a plot to stop the popular ex-president from running in the 2018 elections by indicting Lula.
Lula said in a response on Thursday evening that the Supreme Court ruling was “another historic decision.” He has not officially confirmed yet that he will run for president next year. “If I’m in good health and the country needs it, I might run,” said Lula.
A poll on Tuesday showed that Lula remains popular in Brazil. According to this poll, if there were elections now, Lula would receive 52 percent of the vote in the second round, compared to 34 percent for incumbent Bolsonaro. Elections will take place in October 2022.
Fernando Rodriguez
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