Former Brazilian leader convicted
Silva gets 10 years in corruption case
RIO DE JANEIRO — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering Wednesday and sentenced to almost 10 years in prison, the highest-profile conviction yet in the sprawling graft investigation that has jailed dozens of Brazil’s elite.
The decision by Judge Sergio Moro in the Brazilian city of Curitiba was widely expected, even by Silva’s own defense team, but was still a stunning setback for a politician who has wielded enormous influence across Latin America for decades and was once hailed across the hemisphere as an innovative leftist leader. The charismatic leader left office on Dec. 31, 2010, with skyhigh popularity and is credited with pulling millions of Brazilians out of poverty and turning Latin America’s largest nation into an important player on the worldstage.
Brazil’s first workingclass president will remain free while an appeal is heard, but he is now also the country’s first ex-president to be convicted in a criminal proceeding at least since democracy was restored in the 1980s.
The conviction potentially removes him from the political scene just as his prospects of returning to the presidency were gaining momentum. In many quarters, the man known to Brazilians simply as Lula remains revered — both for his economic policies and his role in fighting for democracy during the country’s dictatorship. The 71year-old has been considered a front-runner for next year’s presidential election.
Silva’s defense team issued a scathing statement after the ruling, calling the charges an attack on democracy and vowing to prove the former president’ s innocence.
“President Lula has been the victim of lawfare, the use of the law for political ends, the famous method used to brutal effect in various dictatorships throughout history,” the lawyers said.
The case is part of the huge “Operation Car Wash” corruption investigation centered on staterun oil giant Petrobras that has led to the convictions of dozens of business executives and politicians, and threatens current President Michel Temer.
Silva was accused of receiving a beachfront apartment and repairs to the property as kickbacks from construction company OAS. Silva never owned the apartment, but prosecutors argued it was intended for him. Prosecutors also alleged that OAS paid to store Silva’s belongings, but Judge Moro dismissed that partof the case.
Silva also faces charges in four other cases. The former union leader has said all the charges are completely unfounded, and his defiant testimony in the case decided Wednesday was billed as a showdown between himself and Judge Moro. Both men are viewed as national heroes by some parts of Brazilian society.
Judge Moro said he did not order Silva’s immediate arrest because the conviction of a president is such a serious matter that he felt the former leader’s appeal shouldbe heard first.