Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Centrists struggle in polarized Brazil ahead of polls

Brasília - Muslimchronicle

With leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and firebrand right-wing former army officer Jair Bolsonaro leading the polls, there's a gaping hole in Brazil's center ahead of presidential elections next year. On Saturday, one of the country's most established centrist forces, the Brazilian Social Democratic Party, or PSDB, took a first step in trying to become the missingRead more

Brazil's defiant Lula says people will decide his fate

Sao Paulo - Muslimchronicle

Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday that voters would decide his fate, shrugging off his graft conviction and insisting he was still in the presidential race. It was Lula's second public speech after an anti-corruption judge handed him a nine-and-a-half year sentence on Wednesday, finding the icon of Latin America's left guilty of taking bribes andRead more

Former Brazil leader Lula gets nearly 10 years in jail for graft

Brazil - Muslimchronicle

Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for graft in a stark fall from grace for the iconic leftist leader. Lula, who ruled Brazil from 2003-2010, was convicted and handed a 9.5-year prison term on Wednesday for accepting a luxury seaside apartment and $1.1 million, the latest twist in a giantRead more

Despite charges, Brazil’s Lula eyes another run

Sao Paulo - Arab Today

He is facing several corruption charges, Brazil’s largest-ever graft probe has decimated the political party he founded and his hand-picked successor was impeached and ousted from office. Yet former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known to Brazilians simply as Lula, is topping polls for next year’s presidential race and traveling the country to make the case that he canRead more

Former Brazilian president Lula's wife dies of stroke

Rio De Janeiro - ArabToday

Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, wife of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, died on Thursday morning, from complications of a stroke. According to the doctors of the Sirio Libanes Hospital, where Mrs. Lula was being treated, the family authorized the donation of her organs for transplants. Through Facebook, the Lula family issued an official statement thanking theRead more

Former Brazilian finance minister arrested

Sao Paulo - Arab Today

Brazilian police Thursday arrested Guido Mantega, a former finance minister under presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, as part of the investigation into the vast Petrobras corruption scheme, media reported. Mantega, who was an important figure in the leftist Workers’ Party, was arrested at a Sao Paulo hospital where his wife had undergone surgery, his lawyer JoseRead more

Brazil’s Lula slams corruption charges

Brazila - Arab Today

Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed as a “farce” his pending prosecution for allegedly masterminding the large-scale plundering of the state oil giant Petrobras. “I am sad because I just learned (Judge Sergio) Moro accepted the charge lodged, even though it is all a farce, a huge lie,” the ex-president said from Brazil by videoconference to NewRead more

Red star of Workers' Party fades in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro - Arab Today

After 13 years in power, the Workers' Party has been forced out by Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff's suspension and impeachment trial, its emblematic red star tarnished by corruption and economic collapse. Can it battle back? The leftist party won four presidential terms starting with founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's landmark election win in 2002, making it the longest-ruling partyRead more

Rousseff could survive impeachment vote

Brasilia - Arab Today

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday that he believed the impeachment vote against incumbent President Dilma Rousseff on Sunday in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the National Congress, would fail. "Dismissing a democratically elected government without a crime of responsibility will not solve anything, it will only worsen the crisis," said Lula inRead more

Facing graft charges, Brazil's Lula joins government in crisis

Brasília - Arab Today

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff named her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva her chief of staff, sparing him possible arrest for corruption and betting on his political prowess to save her from a spiraling crisis. The two leftists who have led Brazil for the past 13 years are both fighting for their political lives, and news they were teaming upRead more