Brazil court clears Lula to take up cabinet post
March 18, 2016
The ruling on Friday followed a second injunction by a court in Rio de Janeiro two days earlier, which had blocked Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's appointment. Although the injunction was overturned, Lula still faces 12 other court challenges to his nomination as chief of staff.
Lula, who held office as Brazil's president from 2003 to 2011, is under investigation in a far-reaching scandal and charged with accepting a luxury apartment and a country home as bribes from companies implicated in a multibillion-dollar graft scheme at state oil company Petrobras.
Brazilian government lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to issue a definitive ruling putting all the cases to rest.
Calls for Rousseff's resignation
Friday's decision came as Lula criticized the release of his wiretapped phone conversations with embattled President Dilma Rousseff. "I merely expect justice," the 70-year-old said in an open letter, saying the actions were sad and shameful.
A taped telephone conversation between Lula and Rousseff was released on Wednesday by the judge handling the Petrobras case. Their discussion, during the call, of the criminal investigation against Lula and the possibility of his appointment was interpreted by Brazilians as evidence that the longtime friends were collaborating to keep him from being prosecuted - allegations for which Rousseff is facing mounting pressure to resign.
Calls for Rousseff's impeachment have also focused on allegations that she broke budget rules to boost spending as she campaigned for re-election in 2014.
Protests across Brazil
On Friday, Rousseff called for her supporters to hold mass rallies in more than 30 cities. The largest rallies in support of the government were expected in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, called by Rousseff's Workers' Party, the major CUT union and other groups.
Hours before the pro-Rousseff demonstrations were due to begin on Friday, riot police used water cannons to break up anti-government demonstrations in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo. Similar measures were enforced on Thursday evening as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to hold back protesters demanding Rousseff's resignation.
ksb/kms (Reuters, AFP)