
Far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is the clear frontrunner in Brazil’s election in October with up to 25% of voter support, followed by center-left populist Ciro Gomes with 12%, a new poll revealed on Tuesday.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has denied a request by Brazil's ex-president Lula da Silva seeking emergency action against his imprisonment, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Lula, currently serving a 12-year sentence over corruption, asked the committee to impose so-called interim measures -- a step the UN panel only takes when there is evidence an accused person is facing grave, irreparable harm.

Jose Dirceu, former chief of staff under ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, surrendered last Friday to start a nearly 31-year prison sentence for corruption, officials said. Dirceu lost an appeal against his conviction for money laundering, corruption and membership of a criminal group, at a court in Porto Alegre on Thursday.

Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday lashed out against his imprisonment for corruption but the government rejected his claim to have been victim of a farce and a judge stripped him of presidential privileges. In a column in French newspaper Le Monde, Lula called his conviction and 12 year sentence for graft a judicial farce and said that presidential elections would be unfair without his participation.

Brazil on Wednesday lashed out at a demand by former European leaders for disgraced ex-president Lula da Silva to be allowed to take part in elections this year. A group of former EU left leaning leaders, including French ex-president Francois Holland and Spanish former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, called Lula's imprisonment for corruption hurried and said he should be free to present himself before Brazilian voters.

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated on Thursday his intention to run for a third presidential term. Lula was jailed on April 7 and is serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for corruption and money laundering.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has been summoned to testify next month as a witness in a Brazilian corruption case involving the purchase of fighter jets by Brazil, the Stockholm District Court said on Wednesday. Lofven will be asked in a Swedish court about his contacts with Brazil’s former presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva regarding the country’s purchase of Saab Gripen fighters in a deal struck five years ago.

Joaquim Barbosa, a former chief justice on Brazil's Supreme Court with anti-corruption credentials, said on Tuesday he would not run for the presidency in October, despite a growing clamor for his candidacy. Barbosa, the first and only black member of the high court, had in recent weeks positioned himself as a potential center-left candidate. He was attractive to many because of his clean image and background as a judge who battled corruption.

Brazil's highest court voted on Thursday to restrict a legal protection afforded to federal lawmakers that critics say has resulted in impunity, as the country grapples with massive official corruption. The protection known as “privileged standing” allows tens of thousands of politicians to have cases against them tried in higher courts than a normal citizen would.

Brazilian former president Dilma Rousseff will be joining May first Labor Day activities in Argentina, and participate of a special ceremony at the Argentine unions federation umbrella organization, CGT.