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Agence France-Presse

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday overturned the corruption convictions against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, clearing the way for the left-wing leader to run in the 2022 presidential election.
Justice Edson Fachin overturned all convictions against the popular-but-tarnished ex-president (2003-2010), stemming from a probe into a massive corruption scheme centered on Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.
Fachin ruled the court in the southeastern city of Curitiba that convicted Lula “lacked jurisdiction”, and sent a total of four related cases against him to a federal court in the capital, Brasilia.
Lula, 75, regains the right to run for office unless the convictions are reinstated.
The decision, which was procedural, did not go into the merits of the cases.

The prosecutor general’s office said it would appeal.
The full Supreme Court could overturn Fachin’s ruling, though legal experts said that was unlikely.
“This is recognition that we were right throughout this long legal battle,” Lula’s lawyers said in a statement.
They called the decision vindication of their arguments: “ex-president Lula’s innocence, the invalidity of the cases and the ‘lawfare’ that was waged against him”.
The cases stem from Operation Car Wash, a sprawling anti-corruption investigation that brought down a Who’s Who of powerful politicians and business executives in Brazil, jailed for using inflated construction contracts to systematically fleece Petrobras for billions of dollars.
Brazil ex-president Lula da Silva walks out of prison
Lula, who spent more than 18 months in prison before being freed in 2019 pending appeal, was the most powerful figure felled.
Prosecutors accused him of using the corruption scheme to take bribes, remodel a triplex beach flat and channel illegal funds to his foundation.
His image was badly tarnished by the convictions, which resulted in jail sentences totalling 26 years.
Still, an opinion poll published Sunday gave Lula the most potential votes in the October 2022 presidential elections – the only politician to outperform far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
Reacting to the ruling outside the presidential palace, Bolsonaro accused the judge of bias.
“Edson Fachin always had strong ties to the PT” – Lula’s Workers’ Party – “so a decision like this doesn’t surprise us”, he said.
“But the (Lula) government’s robbery is plain for all to see … I don’t think the Brazilian people even want a (PT) candidate in 2022, much less him.”
Lula claims he is innocent, and that the cases against him were fabricated to take him out of the running for Brazil’s 2018 presidential race.
That election was ultimately won by Bolsonaro, who capitalised on a massive backlash against the PT.
Lula supporters have long cried foul.
China critic Bolsonaro looks set for second term as Brazil president
They point to the fact that the lead judge in the Car Wash probe, Sergio Moro, went on to accept the post of justice minister under Bolsonaro, and that hacked phone messages show he conspired with prosecutors to ensure Lula was sidelined.
Social media in Brazil erupted with pictures of Lula donning a pair of red sunglasses or tearing into a punching bag with boxing gloves on.
Leftist Argentine president Alberto Fernandez hailed the ruling, tweeting, “Justice has been done!”
“The 2022 election started today,” opinion columnist Thomas Traumann wrote on Twitter.
“If you thought Brazil was politically polarised before, take a seat, because the show’s just getting started.”
Lula remains a hero on the left, and many Brazilians fondly recall the economic boom he presided over, as well as social programmes that helped lift millions of people from poverty.
But his vindication is far from complete. The former metal worker-turned-president still faces several other corruption and influence-peddling cases, aside from the Operation Car Wash charges.
And he remains highly controversial – so much so that the Sao Paulo stock exchange plunged by four percentage points after news of the court decision broke.
The former president’s press office said he had no immediate comment on the ruling.


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Brazil

Brazil judge annuls ex-leader Lula’s convictions, opening door to 2022 presidential run

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures as he leaves the Federal Police Headquarters, where he was serving a sentence for corruption and money laundering, in Curitiba, Parana State, in November 2019. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 5, 2021 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures as he speaks during a press conference on a new fuel tax policy at Planalto Palace in Brasilia. - Brazil's economy shrank 4.1 percent in 2020, officials said on March 3, 2021, closing out what analysts called another "lost decade" for Latin America's biggest economy with a year badly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by EVARISTO SA / AFP)

Trump’s defeat leaves Bolsonaro rebalancing Brazil’s relations with US and China

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro adjusts his face mask during a news conference in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 18, 2020. Under Biden, Bolsonaro’s far-right discourse is likely to fall on deaf ears. Photo: Reuters

A worker inspects soybeans during the a harvest near the town of Campos Lindos in Brazil in February 2018. Brazil is the world’s largest soybean producer and China’s primary soybean supplier. Photo: Reuters 

Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo speaks during an interview at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia on February 24. Bolsonaro will be increasingly pressured to replace the antiglobalist Araújo with a more moderate diplomat. Photo: AFP

Brazil’s freed leftist leader Lula da Silva  rallies thousands of supporters at metalworkers’ union

Supporters of Brazilian former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) carry him on their shoulders in Sao Bernardo do Campo. Photo: EPA-EFE

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flashes a hand heart during a rally at the Metal Workers Union headquarters, in Sao Bernardo, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. Da Silva addressed thousands of jubilant supporters a day after being released from prison. "During 580 days, I prepared myself spiritually, prepared myself to not have hatred, to not have thirst for revenge," the former president said. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves the Brazilian flag after being released from prison, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil November 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is carried by supporters through a jubilant crowd during a rally at the Metal Workers Union headquarters, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. Da Silva addressed thousands of supporters a day after being released from prison. "During 580 days, I prepared myself spiritually, prepared myself to not have hatred, to not have thirst for revenge," the former president said. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)

Philippines fires former Brazil ambassador over domestic worker abuse

Former Brazilian president Michel Temer presents Marichu Mauro with diplomatic credentials when she started her position as ambassador in 2018. Photo: Handout

Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' president, center, during the arrival ceremony of the first shipment of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. coronavirus vaccine at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, Manila, the Philippines, on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. The Philippines will receive more than 1.1 million shots of Covid-19 vaccines, 600,000 doses from Sinovac Biotech today and followed by 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca Plc's vaccines on Monday, allowing the nation to kickstart an inoculation effort weeks after some of its neighbors started theirs and as its daily infections are escalating. Photographer: Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg

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The surprise decision means the popular left-wing politician could face incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in next year’s election
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva led Brazil between 2003 and 2011, and was jailed and convicted of corruption in 2018 before being released from jail in 2019



The surprise decision means the popular left-wing politician could face incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in next year’s presidential election.
