Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was thrust back into Brazil’s political scene after a judge tossed out criminal convictions against the leftist icon, adding to investor concerns that the country’s reform agenda may be derailed by early campaigning for the 2022 presidential election.
The federal court in the southern city of Curitiba had no jurisdiction over cases against the former president, including ones that led to sentences for bribery, Justice Edson Fachin wrote in a statement on Monday. The news sent stocks and the currency cratering, deepening some of the worst performances this year at a time congress discusses approving extra emergency spending to alleviate a renewed coronavirus outbreak.