Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Last week, in a surprise ruling, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge quashed all corruption convictions against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, restoring his political rights and opening the door to a possible 2022 presidential run.
Lula, the 75-year-old leftist leader from the Workers’ Party (PT), has not yet confirmed whether he intends to run next year, but he and his defence team view the judge’s ruling as a testament to his innocence.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Lula described the sprawling anti-corruption scheme in which he was convicted as “the biggest judicial lie told in 500 years of Brazilian history”.