Brazil: find out why Lula is plummeting

Listen this article

Former President Lula da Silva was found guilty by the Brazilian justice on charges of corruption and money laundering. He was sentenced to 12 years and one month in prison

Another sentence to the former Brazilian president?

Gabriela Hardt, judge of the case, told the media that she condemned Lula for receiving bribes from construction companies such as OAS and Odebrecht and for accepting favors in the form of works, in particular, a cottage in Atibaia, inside the city-state of Sao Paulo, according to the newspaper El Mundo.

Leer en español: Brasil: Lula cae en picada

The ruling is not final. The defense could present resources as it has done on other occasions, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha.

In April the former president began serving a sentence of 12 years and 11 months in prison in Curitiba for the same charges, but this time in the renovation of a luxury triplex apartment facing the sea that was allegedly paid for by OAS.

This sentence, which frustrated his career as a presidential candidate last year, was imposed by Sergio Moro, then judge and now Minister of Justice, who became a symbol of the fight against corruption in Brazil.

Both cases are part of the "Lava Jato" case that investigates in Brazil a network of bribes in exchange for the award of public contracts. Corruption revolves around state oil company Petrobras, according to 20 Minutes.

What does this new sentence mean?

This new sentence is confirmed in the second instance, the penalties against the former president, of 73 years, would accumulate 25 years. It is the first time that in Brazil an ex-president is condemned for passive corruption.

For El Mundo, this new ruling distances the former president from freedom and complicates his situation because his name and that of his PT party plummet, so his future is uncertain.

Lula da Silva, according to the AP, denies his guilt in both cases and it is presumed that his defense will appeal the last sentence. It should be remembered that Lula was president for two consecutive terms (2003 – 2011) and left office with a record approval rating of more than 80 percent.

Maybe you're interested in reading: Defense or abuse? The controversial Brazilian law against organized crime

What are the other cases of corruption of Lula?

The ex-president faces eight cases before the Brazilian justice, all linked to different acts of corruption. The other six are, according to the agency EFE and El Tiempo:

A plot in the PT. Illicit association. Lula and the ex-president Dilma Rousseff were part of a supposed corrupt network within PT to receive "millions of dollars in bribes."

Equatorial Guinea, money laundering. Business favors of the ARG group in this African country. It is accepted, according to the Prosecutor's Office, 270 thousand dollars of these companies in the form of a donation to the Lula Institute.

Contracts in Angola, passive corruption. Collection of bribes from Odebrecht to favor it in the awarding of contracts in that country.

Tax incentive for companies of vehicles and fighter aircraft. Influence trafficking, money laundering, and illicit association. The prosecution accuses him of interceding with his successor, Dilma Rousseff, to maintain a tax incentive for auto companies in exchange for alleged bribes.

He was also accused, in the same complaint, of interceding for the Government to attribute to the Swedish company Saab a tender for the purchase of 36 fighter jets.

Operation Zelotes, passive corruption. Accused of signing a decree, in exchange for alleged bribes, in favor of companies in the automotive sector through an extension of tax benefits.

LatinAmerican Post | Miguel Díaz

Translated from "Brasil: Lula cae en picada"