Ex-president fights prison order, refuses to turn himself in to police
SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil — Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defied an order to turn himself in to police on Friday as he hunkered down with supporters at a metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his rise to power.
The once wildly popular leader, who rose from poverty to lead Latin America’s largest nation, had until 5 p.m. local time to present himself to police in the city of Curitiba to begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.
At 5 p.m., however, da Silva remained inside the union.
Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, ordered da Silva to turn present himself to police in Curitiba, about 260 miles southwest of the Sao Paulo suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo.
Two sources close to da Silva said the former leader would not go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union or presenting himself in Sao Paulo. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal deliberations being discussed.
Forcing da Silva out of the union building on a Friday night would be a logistical nightmare given the thousands of supporters outside and heavy Friday traffic in Sao Paulo.
“I don’t see why he should turn himself in just because judge Moro had an anxiety crisis,” Sen. Lindbergh Farias, from the Workers’ Party, told journalists at the union. “I think they should have to go through the embarrassment of coming here and taking him in front of all these people.”
“That footage will be seen around the world and it will be historic,” he added.
Moro’s warrant on Thursday came after Brazil’s top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in October’s election. He is the front-running presidential candidate despite his conviction.
In a statement, Moro said he was giving da Silva the opportunity to come in of his own accord because he had been Brazil’s president. He also said a special cell away from other inmates had been prepared for da Silva at the jail in Curitiba, where Moro ordered da Silva to present himself.
Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.
Late Thursday, thousands gathered outside the metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo where the ex-president universally known as “Lula” got his start as a union organizer. Hundreds spent the night sleeping on the street. Early Friday, da Silva waved to supporters from a window at the union but did not speak.
After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office a world celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.
Former President Barack Obama once called da Silva the “most popular politician on Earth.”