Brazil’s Lula undaunted by legal blow in vote push

Aday after a corruption conviction cast serious doubts on his future, former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted on Thursday that he’ll be on October’s presidential ballot, while also appearing to acknowledge that he could be sidelined.

The comments to highranking members of his left-leaning Workers’ Party underscored the conundrum facing the party that governed Brazil between 2003 and 2016: Its best chance of winning the presidency rests with Da Silva, but the once wildly popular former leader may ultimately be ineligible or even jailed.

Increased jail term

His chances of running went down sharply on Wednesday when an appellate court upheld a graft conviction against him and even increased the sentence to more than 12 years.

“I hope this candidacy does not depend on Lula,” the former leader told Thursday’s meeting, hinting that others in the Workers’ Party must be ready to carry forward its vision for the country. “You have to put the Brazilian people in motion.”

Party stalwarts at Thursday’s meeting doubled down on their insistence that Da Silva will run.