Lula defies deadline to begin sentence

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has defied an order to turn himself in to police, instead hunkering down with supporters at the office of 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 5pm local time yesterday to present himself to police in the city of Curitiba to begin serving a prison sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

Hours after the deadline, however, da Silva remained inside the union building in the Sao Paulo suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo, about 420km northeast of Curitiba. Party leaders initially said he would speak in the late afternoon, but later said he would not.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, ordered da Silva to present himself to police by the deadline.

Two sources close to da Silva said he would not go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union building or presenting himself in Sao Paulo today.

Forcing da Silva out of the building would be a logistical nightmare, given the thousands of supporters outside. ‘‘The intention is not to force compliance at any cost, but rather follow the order the best way possible, with tranquillity and without a media show,’’ said Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police.

Anna Julia Menezes Rodrigues, a specialist in criminal law at Braga Nascimento e Zilio, said da Silva’s defiance did not turn him into a fugitive. It just meant that it was now up to federal police to carry out the warrant.

Moro issued the warrant on Friday, just hours 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.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favours with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

Thousands listened to music and speeches yesterday outside the union building in Sao Bernardo do Campo, where the ex-president, universally known as ‘‘Lula’’, got his start as a union organiser.

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds in one of the world’s most unequal countries.

After running for president several times, he finally won in 2002. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office an international celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Since leaving office, things have steadily become worse for da Silva, who has been charged in several corruption cases. He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country during the past year. Despite his legal troubles, he leads polls to return to office – if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Workers’ Party leaders insist that da Silva, 72, will still be the party’s candidate in October. Technically, beginning to serve his sentence would not keep him off the ballot.

In August, the country’s top electoral court will make final decisions about candidacies. It is expected to deny da Silva’s candidacy under Brazil’s ‘‘clean slate’’ law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld. Da Silva could appeal such a decision, though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

Da Silva is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history. Over the last four years, Brazilians have experienced near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, from top politicians to businessmen. Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks.