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 left-wing candidate for the Labor Party, but only that it was ‘too early’ to participate in discussion.
“When it comes to 2022, the party will discuss whether we have a candidate and whether we are acting on a broad front,” he said.
“My head does not have time to think about candidacy in 2022,” he added. “We have to do a lot before we talk about ourselves.”
Da Silva spoke at the ABC Metalworkers Union in São Bernardo do Campo on Wednesday, the same place where he spoke to supporters before he was imprisoned, in recognition that I had never committed a crime … that there was never any involvement of mine with Petrobras. ‘
According to the judge’s statement, the judicial procedure in da Silva’s case was flawed from the outset because the federal court of Curitiba that ruled on his conviction did not have jurisdiction. “With this ruling, all the rulings handed down by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba are annulled,” reads the statement from Fachin’s office, ordering that two cases in which da Silva was convicted be re-processed at the Federal Court of Brasilia. must be.
What happens next is the broad Supreme Court. According to CNN Brasil, the country’s attorney general has promised to appeal Fachin’s ruling. Even if the Supreme Court upholds it, da Silva could still be found guilty of a retrial. Meanwhile, a separate vote by the Supreme Court this week can also see the cases being adjourned.
For now, however, the former president has paved the way for a return to politics, which could potentially reform the 2022 election landscape. If da Silva is elected president next year, it could be difficult for a centrist candidate to push Bolsonaro to pursue more populist policies in hopes of strengthening his base.
“Do not be afraid of me, I am radical, because I want to go to the root of this country’s problems,” da Silva said on Wednesday.
Bolsonaro, the so-called “Trump of the Tropics”, is being criticized for his handling of the pandemic. The country reported a record Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, with 1,972 new deaths within 24 hours bringing the total toll to 268,370.
Bolsonaro told the press on Monday he hoped the Brazilian Supreme Court would eventually reverse the ruling and restore da Silva’s conviction. He added that he does not think Brazilians want a presidential candidate like da Silva in 2022.
When he left office in 2011 after two terms, it was with an approval rate of 90% – although his hand-picked successor Dilma Rousseff was charged during her second term for violating budget laws, after her approval rate dropped amid the corruption scandal that engulfed the Labor Party. .
The Curitiba court that originally convicted da Silva – led by Sergio Moro, who was later appointed by Bolsonaro as justice minister – ruled that the former president had benefited from the refurbishment of a triplex in a beach town near Sao Paulo by the construction company OAS, which is deeply involved in the bribery operation in Petrobras.
The charges relate to bribes of 3.7 million euros ($ 1.1 million) received by OAS through the apartment on the beach. In return, da Silva helped the builder obtain contracts from the oil company, the prosecutor’s office said – charges he had long denied.
Reporting contributed by CNN’s Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo, Vasco Cotovio in London and Tatiana Arias and Hira Humayun in Atlanta.