Lula pulls the strings of Brazilian politics from jail

By Joana Oliveira

SAO PAULO, Brazil

Despite a law that forbids politicians whose convictions have been upheld by an appeals court from running for public office, Brazil’s Workers’ Party has registered former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as its candidate for the presidency in the October elections.

Lula has been in prison since April, charged with corruption and money laundering, but he continues to run the Workers’ Party and even determines the moves of other political organizations.

This story began on Wednesday, just a few hours after Fernando Haddad, the former mayor of Sao Paulo and Lula’s running mate, along with former president Dilma Rousseff and Workers’ Party president Gleis Hoffmann registered Lula as their party's official candidate.

Attorney General Raquel Dodge, who holds the highest post in the Public Electoral Ministry, asked the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to object to Lula’s candidacy, but Lula still leads in the polls.

After this, the tribunal began evaluating various petitions to help it decide. Although the most probable outcome is that Lula’s candidacy will be rejected, the final decision will not be made public until Sept. 17.

According to the Clean Slate Law, which was sanctioned under Lula’s own government, candidates who were declared guilty by a tribunal and then used legal means to appeal and were again found guilty are not allowed to run for public office.

But the former president’s lawyers maintain that he has the right to run for president again. Their main argument is that Lula did not pass through all courts, which means his sentence could still be overturned by the Supreme Federal Tribunal.

They also argue that Lula’s registration as a candidate allows him to carry out a political campaign and to have his name on the ballot box regardless of his candidacy being questioned by the electoral justice body

of masses and the political scenario

From his prison cell in federal police headquarters in the southern city of Curitiba, Lula has turned the ordeal surrounding his candidacy into a source of popularity. Party members and followers recently organized the National Free Lula March in which thousands marched in front of the Electoral Tribunal in the capital, Brasilia.

During the march, Fernando Haddad read a letter in which Lula addressed the Brazilian people and said he is the victim of a “judicial hunt”.

“The country needs to resolve its destiny in the ballot box, not in coups. With my name approved at the convention [of my party], the electoral law guarantees that I will only stop being a candidate if I die, renounce it, or if I am kicked out of the race by the electoral justice body. I don’t plan on dying, I don’t plan on quitting, and I will fight for my registration until the end,” said Lula.

The fact is, even from jail, the former president is still in charge not only of his party, but he also dominates the whole political scenario in Brazil.

Two weeks ago, he gave the order to remove one of his strongest regional candidates, Marilia Arraes, granddaughter of a traditional political family from northeastern Brazil and candidate for governor of Pernambuco state, in order to get the support of the Brazilian Socialist Party as a way to crush center-left Ciro Gomes’ presidential candidacy.

That same week, he formed an alliance with the Brazilian Communist Party after he convinced Manuela D’Avila to abandon her own campaign and support him.

In case that Lula is not allowed to run, Haddad will run in his place with D’Avila as his running mate. In this case, the Workers’ Party would seek to transfer to them a great deal of the votes in favor of the former president.

*Ahmed Fawzi Mostefai contributed to this report