This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/19/brazil-judge-strips-lula-of-office-amid-mounting-political-crisis

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Brazil judge strips Lula of office amid mounting political crisis Brazil judge strips Lula of office amid mounting political crisis
(about 1 hour later)
A judge in Brazil has ruled that former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva should be stripped of a ministerial role so he can be investigated for corruption, minutes after the ex-president rallied tens of thousands of supporters behind his embattled successor Dilma Rousseff. A supreme court judge in Brazil has blocked the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s appointment to cabinet, paving the way for him to face corruption charges in court.
In a move likely to inflame tensions between the judiciary and Brazil’s leftist government, supreme court justice Gilmar Mendes said Rousseff’s decision to name Lula her chief of staff appeared designed to shelter him from prosecutors’ charges of money laundering. Judge Gilmar Mendes wrote that Lula’s appointment to cabinet was clearly designed to allow him to avoid possible imprisonment by a lower court judge.
Lula’s appointment on Wednesday, which sparked protests in several cities, means only the supreme court can investigate him, placing him beyond the reach of a crusading judge heading Brazil’s biggest ever graft probe into corruption at state oil company Petrobras. Lula’s appointment to cabinet on Wednesday, which sparked protests in several cities, means only the supreme court can investigate him, placing him beyond the reach of a crusading judge heading Brazil’s biggest ever graft probe into corruption at state oil company Petrobras.
“The goal of the falsity is clear: prevent the carrying out of preventative arrest order” against Silva being considered by a lower court, Mendes wrote in his ruling.“The goal of the falsity is clear: prevent the carrying out of preventative arrest order” against Silva being considered by a lower court, Mendes wrote in his ruling.
“It would be plausible to conclude that the appointment and subsequent swearing-in could constitute fraud of the constitution.”“It would be plausible to conclude that the appointment and subsequent swearing-in could constitute fraud of the constitution.”
His decision to suspend Lula from ministerial office can be appealed before a plenary session of the court. It puts an end, temporarily at least, to the legal ping-pong of the past 36 hours that saw Lula win and lose ministerial status several times, as judges from across Brazil filed over 50 injunctions against his appointment to cabinet
The opposition branded Rousseff’s appointment of her charismatic political mentor as a desperate bid to shore up support in her Workers’ party against impeachment proceedings, which picked up speed in Congress on Friday, as well as a means of protecting him from prosecutors. The solicitor-general, José Eduardo Cardozo, said the government would appeal Mendes’ decision to the entire supreme court.
At a rally in Sao Paulo’s central Paulista Avenue, tens of thousands of Workers’ party supporters cheered Lula as he promised that his return to government would bring a greater emphasis on returning the recession-striken economy to growth and creating jobs. The court’s next meeting is scheduled for 30 March.
“We have a long time before 2018 to turn around the fortunes of this country,” Lula said, referring to the next presidential elections, for which he has suggested he could be a candidate. “There will not be a coup.“ The ruling to block Lula’s appointment came minutes after he rallied tens of thousands of supporters behind his embattled successor Dilma Rousseff.
Pollster Datafolha estimated some 95,000 people took part in the Sao Paulo demonstration. Tens of thousands more participated in pro-government protests in Rio de Janeiro, while police said more than 5,000 joined a rally in the capital Brasilia in front of Congress. In front of a crowd of 95,000 in São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista, Lula made a conciliatory speech that eschewed criticism of his opponents and called on his supporters to avoid provocations. He said said that he only accepted the government position to help Rousseff for the remaining two years of her mandate.
Hours earlier, riot police had fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters who had blocked the same central Sao Paulo thoroughfare since Wednesday, when demonstrations erupted against Lula’s appointment as minister. “I want a country without hatred,” he shouted over the crowd’s chants of “there’s not going to be a coup.”
In the lower house of Congress, opposition parties hurried along impeachment proceedings against Rousseff by holding a session on Friday, when lawmakers are usually away from the capital. “What we need to do is bring back peace and hope, and to prove that this country is better than anything on earth,” he said.
One of those listening was Marilia Fernandes, a 37-year-old history teacher: “There are criticisms to be made against the [ruling] PT [Partido dos Trabalhdores],” she said.
“A lot of the left was forgotten. But they improved the lives of the neediest. I was an adolescent in the 1990s. Brazil was a very different place back then. Brazil managed to eradicate starvation and infant mortality,” Fernandes said.
Many of those present at the rally criticised the coverage of this week’s developments by TV Globo, Brazil’s dominant television network that thrived during the country’s period of military rule from 1964-1985. In contrast to the extensive airtime given to the opposition protests over the past week, the coverage of Friday’s demonstrations – thought to have included 275,000 people across the country – was relatively low-key.
Earlier in the day, police had used water cannon to clear anti-government protesters from the street in São Paulo in an attempt to avoid confrontation between competing groups of demonstrators.
But opposition activists were largely absent from the streets, though one government sympathiser was punched in the face on his way home by a man claiming the crowd were all thieves.
In the capital, Brasília, a crowd of government supporters and sympathisers marched towards congress, which held its first session to discuss the impeachment of Rousseff earlier in the day.
The president has 10 sessions in the lower house to present her defence and the decision to hold a session on Friday meant the clock has started on those, even though the special impeachment committee did not meet.The president has 10 sessions in the lower house to present her defence and the decision to hold a session on Friday meant the clock has started on those, even though the special impeachment committee did not meet.
A vote on Rousseff’s fate is expected by mid April.
The case against her centres on allegations that Rousseff broke budget rules to boost spending as she campaigned for re-election in 2014. Lula and Rousseff both deny any wrongdoing.The case against her centres on allegations that Rousseff broke budget rules to boost spending as she campaigned for re-election in 2014. Lula and Rousseff both deny any wrongdoing.
Antonio Imbassahy, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic party (PSDB) in the lower house, said the committee could present its findings by mid-April.
Committee chairman Rogerio Rosso, of the PSDB that forms part of Rousseff’s coalition, said the committee was balanced between lawmakers for and against unseating the president, but recent political events would influence their decisions.
On Sunday, more than 1 million people poured into the streets of several cities to demand Rousseff’s departure, the biggest in a wave of protests calling for her resignation.
“The large street demonstrations are echoing here,” he told local television. “Political instability is growing.“
Rousseff’s main coalition party, the fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), has brought forward to March 29 a meeting of its executive to decide whether to break with her government and seek her impeachment.Rousseff’s main coalition party, the fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), has brought forward to March 29 a meeting of its executive to decide whether to break with her government and seek her impeachment.
Amongst the crowd of government supporters outside congress in Brasília was 29-year-old teacher, Rodrigo Santaella, who said that he had never voted for the ruling party, Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), but that he was participating in support of democracy.
“I consider myself left-wing, but I am not here to support the government,” he said. “I am here to deter fascism and the rise of the right in Brazil.”