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| Tempers Flare in Brazil Over Intercepts of Calls by Ex-President ‘Lula’ | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| RIO DE JANEIRO — “In Brazil, a poor man goes to jail when he steals,” a fiery left-wing congressman named Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in 1988. “When a rich man steals, he becomes a minister.” | RIO DE JANEIRO — “In Brazil, a poor man goes to jail when he steals,” a fiery left-wing congressman named Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in 1988. “When a rich man steals, he becomes a minister.” |
| Those words are coming back to haunt him now. | Those words are coming back to haunt him now. |
| On Thursday, Mr. da Silva, the former president facing investigations into his accumulation of wealth since leaving office, was sworn in as exactly that: a cabinet minister. | On Thursday, Mr. da Silva, the former president facing investigations into his accumulation of wealth since leaving office, was sworn in as exactly that: a cabinet minister. |
| With prosecutors seeking his arrest, Mr. da Silva was sworn in as chief of staff to his protégé and successor, President Dilma Rousseff. The post may give him broad legal protections, but immediately set off a national firestorm. | With prosecutors seeking his arrest, Mr. da Silva was sworn in as chief of staff to his protégé and successor, President Dilma Rousseff. The post may give him broad legal protections, but immediately set off a national firestorm. |
| A judge in the capital, Brasília, issued an injunction against the move, arguing that Ms. Rousseff may have violated the law in appointing Mr. da Silva. Protesters rallied outside the ceremony and on the streets of São Paulo as police officers tried to prevent clashes | A judge in the capital, Brasília, issued an injunction against the move, arguing that Ms. Rousseff may have violated the law in appointing Mr. da Silva. Protesters rallied outside the ceremony and on the streets of São Paulo as police officers tried to prevent clashes |
| And the old quote by Mr. da Silva — made long ago to denounce the legal protections enjoyed by senior officials ensnared in graft scandals — circulated widely in Brazil, illustrating the former president’s evolution from a union leader who crusaded against corruption to the target of multiple investigations. | And the old quote by Mr. da Silva — made long ago to denounce the legal protections enjoyed by senior officials ensnared in graft scandals — circulated widely in Brazil, illustrating the former president’s evolution from a union leader who crusaded against corruption to the target of multiple investigations. |
| Mr. da Silva also found himself at the center of an uproar over the release of intercepts of telephone conversations, in which he discusses ways to attack the officials investigating his dealings and says, “Why can’t we intimidate them?” | Mr. da Silva also found himself at the center of an uproar over the release of intercepts of telephone conversations, in which he discusses ways to attack the officials investigating his dealings and says, “Why can’t we intimidate them?” |
| The intercepts, made public by Sergio Moro, the judge overseeing the inquiry into the colossal graft scheme around the national oil company, set off a fierce debate over the limits of surveillance in Latin America’s largest country and whether Ms. Rousseff and Mr. da Silva conspired to obstruct investigations. | The intercepts, made public by Sergio Moro, the judge overseeing the inquiry into the colossal graft scheme around the national oil company, set off a fierce debate over the limits of surveillance in Latin America’s largest country and whether Ms. Rousseff and Mr. da Silva conspired to obstruct investigations. |
| In one of the recordings, Mr. da Silva and Ms. Rousseff briefly discuss his “appointment papers,” with the president telling him that they are available “in case they are needed.” | In one of the recordings, Mr. da Silva and Ms. Rousseff briefly discuss his “appointment papers,” with the president telling him that they are available “in case they are needed.” |
| Critics of the government contend that the discussion reveals how the two officials were moving to obstruct the investigation into Mr. da Silva’s dealings by making him a minister. | Critics of the government contend that the discussion reveals how the two officials were moving to obstruct the investigation into Mr. da Silva’s dealings by making him a minister. |
| Cabinet ministers figure among the 700 or so senior officials in Brazil, including all of the elected members of Congress, who have special judicial standing. It allows them to be tried only by the Supreme Federal Tribunal, the country’s highest court. Effectively, few officials tried at the court ever go to jail, with their trials dragging on for years. | Cabinet ministers figure among the 700 or so senior officials in Brazil, including all of the elected members of Congress, who have special judicial standing. It allows them to be tried only by the Supreme Federal Tribunal, the country’s highest court. Effectively, few officials tried at the court ever go to jail, with their trials dragging on for years. |
| In the capital, a judge issued an injunction on Thursday in an attempt to block Mr. da Silva’s appointment, arguing that Ms. Rousseff may have interfered with the workings of the judiciary. | In the capital, a judge issued an injunction on Thursday in an attempt to block Mr. da Silva’s appointment, arguing that Ms. Rousseff may have interfered with the workings of the judiciary. |
| Such injunctions are common in Brazil’s legal system and are often overturned. The solicitor general, José Eduardo Cardozo, said that Ms. Rousseff’s government was quickly appealing. | Such injunctions are common in Brazil’s legal system and are often overturned. The solicitor general, José Eduardo Cardozo, said that Ms. Rousseff’s government was quickly appealing. |
| Expressing anger over the spectacle of a sitting president having one of her phone conversations broadcast on national television, Ms. Rousseff also lashed out at the release of intercepts, contending that she and Mr. da Silva were merely following normal procedures. She accused the judge of releasing the conversations illegally, describing the move as contributing to efforts to oust her. | Expressing anger over the spectacle of a sitting president having one of her phone conversations broadcast on national television, Ms. Rousseff also lashed out at the release of intercepts, contending that she and Mr. da Silva were merely following normal procedures. She accused the judge of releasing the conversations illegally, describing the move as contributing to efforts to oust her. |
| “This is how coups get underway,” she said at Mr. da Silva’s swearing-in ceremony in Brasília, which was marked by the shouting of the word “shame” by an opposition legislator and protests outside the palace by groups of opponents and supporters of the government. | “This is how coups get underway,” she said at Mr. da Silva’s swearing-in ceremony in Brasília, which was marked by the shouting of the word “shame” by an opposition legislator and protests outside the palace by groups of opponents and supporters of the government. |
| The country pored over details of the former president’s conversations, dissecting his profanity-laced phone calls with a range of senior officials, from cabinet ministers to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes. | The country pored over details of the former president’s conversations, dissecting his profanity-laced phone calls with a range of senior officials, from cabinet ministers to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes. |
| In one call with a legislator from Mr. da Silva’s leftist Workers Party, the former president explains how he wants the party’s congressmen to exert pressure on Judge Moro and the prosecutors investigating the claims of bribery and money laundering by a group of large construction companies. | In one call with a legislator from Mr. da Silva’s leftist Workers Party, the former president explains how he wants the party’s congressmen to exert pressure on Judge Moro and the prosecutors investigating the claims of bribery and money laundering by a group of large construction companies. |
| “I think they have to be afraid,” Mr. da Silva said on the call. “He needs to go to sleep knowing that the following day he’ll have 10 legislators irritating him at his house, irritating him at his office, facing a case at the Supreme Federal Tribunal.” | “I think they have to be afraid,” Mr. da Silva said on the call. “He needs to go to sleep knowing that the following day he’ll have 10 legislators irritating him at his house, irritating him at his office, facing a case at the Supreme Federal Tribunal.” |
| “Why can’t we intimidate them?” Mr. da Silva continued. | “Why can’t we intimidate them?” Mr. da Silva continued. |