The former president, better known as Lula, did not confirm or deny the heated speculation that he could now challenge Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential race as the leftist candidate of the Workers’ Party, saying only that it was “too early” to get involved in this. discussion.
“When it arrives in 2022, the party will discuss whether we have a candidate or whether we act broadly,” he said.
“My head doesn’t have time to think about the candidacy in 2022,” he added. “We have a lot to do before we talk about ourselves.”
Speaking Wednesday at the ABC Metalworkers Union in São Bernardo do Campo, the same place where he talked to supporters moments before going to prison, Lula welcomed the decision as an acknowledgment that “there was never a crime committed by me. .. that there was never any involvement of mine with Petrobras. ”
According to the judge’s statement, the judicial process in Lula’s case was flawed from the start because the Federal Court of Curitiba that ruled on his conviction was not competent. “With the decision, all decisions handed down by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba are declared null and void”, says the statement from Fachin’s office, which determines that the two cases in which Lula was convicted must go back to the Federal Court of Brasília.
What happens next depends on the larger Supreme Court. According to CNN Brasil, the country’s attorney general promised to appeal Fachin’s decision. Even if the Supreme Court confirms, Lula can still be sentenced again in a new trial. Meanwhile, a separate vote by the Supreme Court this week could also result in cases being dismissed.
For the time being, however, the path has been opened for the ex-president to return to politics, potentially reshaping the 2022 electoral landscape. If Lula runs for president next year, it may be difficult for a center candidate to emerge and will likely put pressure on Bolsonaro to implement more populist policies in the hope of solidifying its base.
“Don’t be afraid of me, I am radical because I want to go to the root of this country’s problems,” Lula said on Wednesday.
Bolsonaro, the so-called “Trump of the Tropics”, faces fierce criticism for his way of dealing with the pandemic. The country reported a record death toll from Covid-19 on Tuesday, with 1,972 new deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 268,370.
Speaking to the press on Monday, Bolsonaro said he hoped the Brazilian Supreme Court would eventually reverse the decision and restore Lula’s convictions. He added that he did not think the Brazilians wanted a presidential candidate like Lula in 2022.
When he left office in 2011, after two terms, he passed a 90% approval rating – although his handpicked successor Dilma Rousseff was impeached for violating budget laws during his second term, after his approval rate plummeted. amid the corruption scandal that involved the Workers’ Party.
The Curitiba court that originally convicted Lula – led by Sergio Moro, later appointed Minister of Justice by Bolsonaro – concluded that the former president benefited from the renovation of a triplex in a coastal city near São Paulo by the construction company OAS, which was deeply involved. involved in Petrobras’ bribery operation.
The charges were related to 3.7 million reais (US $ 1.1 million) in bribes received from OAS through the beachfront apartment. In return, Lula helped the construction company acquire contracts from the oil company, the prosecutor said – accusations that he denied for a long time.
Report contributed by Shasta Darlington of CNN in São Paulo, Vasco Cotovio in London and Tatiana Arias and Hira Humayun in Atlanta.