RIO DE JANEIRO – A judge at the Supreme Court of Brazil on Monday closed several criminal cases against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, restoring his right to seek the presidency again, in a decision with the potential to reshape the political future. of Brazil.
Lula, a ferocious leftist leader who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, was the favorite in the 2018 presidential race that ended up won by Jair Bolsonaro. But the Federal Supreme Court, in April of that year, ruled that Mr. da Silva could not appear on the ballot because of a conviction in a 2017 corruption case.
With his political rights restored, Silva is expected to run against Bolsonaro in next year’s presidential elections.
The current, a far-right polarizing leader who pays homage to the military dictatorship in Brazil, would face a formidable challenge in Lula, a former political prisoner who continues to be revered among poor Brazilians.
Lula, 75, and many of his supporters have long argued that the criminal proceedings against him are politically motivated. Mr. da Silva was convicted of accepting an apartment by the sea as part of a bribe scheme involving government contracts.
The former president was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but a Supreme Court decision in November 2019 allowed him to remain free while his resources were pending.
The federal judge who oversaw the case, Sergio Moro, left the bench shortly after Bolsonaro’s inauguration and entered his office as Minister of Justice. The anti-corruption task force that investigated Lula, who was based in the city of Curitiba, in the south of the country, was dissolved earlier this year amid questions about ethical and procedural irregularities on the part of its promoters.
On Monday, the Supreme Court judge, Edson Fachin, decided that Lula should never have been prosecuted in Curitiba. The decision, which covers four criminal cases, did not represent Mr. Lula’s acquittal. The attorney general’s office said shortly after the decision was handed down that it would seek a full court decision.
Minister Fachin said the former president could still face charges if prosecutors in the capital, Brasília, decide to take up some of the vague cases. Lula faces three other corruption cases in Brasília, which have not yet reached a verdict.
Ernesto Londoño news from Rio de Janeiro. Letícia Casado contributed reporting from Brasília.