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| Former Brazilian President Luis Inassiu Lula da Silva. © News1 Release Photo |
The Brazilian Supreme Court voted to rerun the election of former President Luis Inassiu Lula da Silva next year. The day before, Supreme Court Justice Edson Parchin invalidated the court case, deciding whether to dismiss the case or return it to the competent court. If dismissed, former President Lula could sell out for the presidential election for one year and seven months.
According to Reuters and Elpais on the 9th (local time), Justice Gilmar Mendes announced that on that day, Lula’s lawyers will enter a vote on the case that raised the issue of the fairness of former judge Sergio Anvil, who was convicted in the lower court. Five Supreme Court Justices participated in the video, and one Supreme Court decided to reschedule the vote by requesting additional time for review. On this day, the video hearing was broadcast live online, attracting the attention of the whole country.
The previous day, Supreme Court Justice Pachin canceled all judgments under the court that sentenced former President Lula to imprisonment. The southern Court of Curitiba, which presided over the court below, had no authority to rule on the corruption charges of former President Lula, and the jurisdiction was in the Federal Court of Brasilia. However, the decision did not mention whether former President Lula was guilty or whether former Judge Anvil was fair. This is the reason the national attention is drawn to this vote.
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| On March 8, 2021, a message in support of’a fair trial with Lula’ hangs in a building in Sao Paulo, Brazil. © Reuters = News 1 |
First of all, if the Supreme Court Justices decide to dismiss the case, former President Lula is expected to emerge as a presidential candidate who will threaten the re-election of the current President Zaire Bolsonaro.
This is because it was the conviction in this case that prevented him from running for the 3rd term in 2018, which led the era of’Pink Tide’ (left wave) in Brazil as well as in South America from 2003 to 2011. On the other hand, if Supreme Court Justice Pachin’s sole judgment is finalized and the case is destroyed and returned to the Federal Court of Brasilia, the possibility of another conviction ahead of the presidential election will be open.
Brazil’s judiciary was deeply troubled over the impartiality of former Judge Anvil. Former Judge Anvil took the position as attorney general of the Bolsonaro government the following year when he sentenced former President Lula to imprisonment. He has now withdrawn from his post of ministerial office, but his political life also depends on the ruling. In connection with the conviction of former President Lula, there is a suspicion of “judicial nongdan” that the government, the prosecution, and the court collused.
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| Brazilian President Zaire Bolsonaro (left) and former Attorney General Sergio Anvil. Former Minister Anvil was based on the following year’s sentence of imprisonment for corruption charges of former Brazilian President Luis Inassiu Lula da Silva in 2018. © Reuters = News 1 |
Former President Lula served 1 year and 6 months after being convicted of a bribery scandal with a large construction company Odebresi in 2018 that shook South America. He pleaded not guilty that his case was planned politically, and he entered the Supreme Court and tried to appeal in a state of imprisonment.
President Bolsonaru, who is a far-right side, was an army colonel. done. However, the approval rating is falling due to the failure to respond to Corona 19 and the deteriorating economic situation. In particular, there are observations that if former President Lula is recognized as a victim of Judicial Nongdan after taking off the charges in this ruling, the public sentiment that has turned back will turn to the left side again.