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Updated March 11, 2021
Brazilian football legend Pele take part in a meeting with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and France national football team forward Kylian Mbappe (unseen) at the Hotel Lutetia in Paris on April 2, 2019. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Football’s greatest living legend, Pele, could add another to his long list of accolades: the Rio de Janeiro state legislature has voted to rename Brazil’s iconic Maracana stadium for him.
Lawmakers voted Tuesday to change the stadium’s official name to “Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Rei Pele” the three-time world champion’s full name, plus “King Pele,” his nickname.
The bill now goes to interim governor Claudio Castro, who has 15 days to decide whether to sign it into law.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - A day after overturning graft convictions of Brazil's leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Supreme Court was split on Tuesday on whether to throw out evidence against him, which could clear his name ahead of a possible 2022 presidential run.
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.
But for the past two years, leaked Telegram messages have revealed Moro’s bias against Lula, the Workers Party and the left. They also show the judge guiding prosecutors to help their case for conviction. Moro would go on to join President Bolsonaro as his justice minister.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Lula’s lawyers could use these leaked messages in his defense. Despite the annulment of Lula’s convictions, the top court decided Tuesday that it would still adjudicate over Moro’s bias, in a ruling that could have disastrous consequences for the former judge’s political career and his presidential aspirations.