MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Support for Lula's presidential bid despite his corruption conviction
The petition titled “Election without Lula is a fraud”, comes ahead of a January 24 court ruling on his appeal of a nine-and-a-half-year jail sentence issued last July. 
Ex leaders Cristina Fernandez of Argentina, Jose Mujica, Uruguay, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Ernesto Samper of Colombia are among those signing Four South American ex-presidents are among more than 170,000 people who signed a petition supporting former president Lula da Silva bid for another term as Brazil's president, despite his corruption conviction. US film-maker Oliver Stone also signed the online petition supporting Lula, whose electoral aspirations are at risk of being blocked.
The petition on change.org, titled “Election without Lula is a fraud”, comes ahead of a January 24 court ruling on his appeal of a nine-and-a-half-year jail sentence issued last July.
Former presidents Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, Jose Mujica of Uruguay, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Ernesto Samper of Colombia are among the personalities who have signed the document.
It calls the scheduling of the appeal date “purely an act of persecution” against Lula as his support “grows in the polls.”
Lula was Brazil's first democratically elected populist president and was credited with helping lift 30 million Brazilians out of poverty. He was hugely popular during his 2003-2010 two-term presidency, but his reputation was damaged by steep economic decline under his handpicked successor Dilma Rousseff who was impeached in 2016 for breaking budget rules.
A court convicted Lula in connection with Brazil's “Car Wash” graft probe, which began with a seemingly run-of-the-mill money laundering investigation but which led investigators to a web of corruption involving much of the country's political and economic elite.
The appeal court's ruling could decide whether Lula can take part in October 2018 presidential elections in which he is currently the frontrunner. While Lula could find ways to appeal further, a ruling against him would throw the presidential race into further uncertainty.
Lula, 72, also faces six other corruption cases. He claims that a “diabolical pact” has been struck between prosecutors, federal police and the media to prevent his return to the presidency.
He has said he was convicted “without proof” by a judge who found that he received a luxury beachside apartment and US$1.1 million in cash from one of Brazil's biggest construction companies, OAS.
Lula has remained free pending the appeal. In August, Brazilian lawmakers tossed out a corruption charge against the current president, center-right leader Michel Temer.
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Read all commentsLula KNOWS that the following is the profile of This Kind of the Population. That's why they love each other:
Jan 16th, 2018 - 11:59 am +1Vocês que fazem parte dessa massa
Que passa nos projetos do futuro
É duro tanto ter que caminhar
E dar muito mais do que receber
E ter que demonstrar sua coragem
À margem do que possa parecer
E ver que toda essa engrenagem
Já sente a ferrugem lhe comer
Ê, ô, ô, vida de gado
Povo marcado, ê!
Povo feliz!
Ê, ô, ô, vida de gado
Povo marcado, ê!
Povo feliz!
Lá fora faz um tempo confortável
A vigilância cuida do normal
Os automóveis ouvem a notícia
Os homens a publicam no jornal
E correm através da madrugada
A única velhice que chegou
Demoram-se na beira da estrada
E passam a contar o que sobrou!
Ê, ô, ô, vida de gado
Povo marcado, ê!
Povo feliz!
Ê, ô, ô, vida de gado
Povo marcado, ê!
Povo feliz!
Ôôô, boi
O povo foge da ignorância
Apesar de viver tão perto dela
E sonham com melhores tempos idos
Contemplam essa vida numa cela
Esperam nova possibilidade
De verem esse mundo se acabar
A arca de Noé, o dirigível
Não voam, nem se pode flutuar
Não voam, nem se pode flutuar
Não voam, nem se pode flutuar
Ê, ô, ô, vida de gado
Povo marcado, ê!
Povo feliz!
Ê, ô, ô, vida de gado
Povo marcado, ê!
Povo feliz!
Ôôô, boi
REF:
https://www.letras.mus.br/ze-ramalho/49361/
Wow, that's low. I read his Wikipedia article:
Jan 21st, 2018 - 09:51 pm +1“American journalist Glenn Greenwald referred to Bolsonaro as ”the most misogynistic, hateful elected official in the democratic world“.[17] News.com.au wondered whether Bolsonaro was ”the world’s most repulsive politician“.”
What a prize, he sounds closer to that murderer Duterte than to Trump.
@PE
Jan 22nd, 2018 - 01:45 pm +1I'm sure there are plenty of people who comment on other countries without knowing anything about them, we even have some here. But as you just saw, not everyone is speaking from ignorance. You probably have a different view of the US compared to the average American, does that mean you don't understand its people and culture and shouldn't comment on it?
@JB
What makes you say Bolsonaro isn't presidential material, (apart from being a Brazilian politician ;) ).
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