PORTO ALEGRE: The first of three appeals court judges voted Wednesday to uphold a corruption conviction against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a case that could bar Brazil´s most popular politician from running in this year´s general election.
Judge Pedro Gebran agreed with a lower court´s decision last year that Lula had taken millions in bribes from a large construction firm in exchange for it winning government contracts.Lula, 72, who oversaw a commodities boom a decade ago as Brazil´s first working-class president, would be declared ineligible for the Oct. 7 election if his appeal was denied by at least two of three judges on the case, as expected.The other two judges should make rulings later Wednesday. Lula can still appeal to higher courts to delay a final decision, avoiding jail and stringing the process out long enough to register his candidacy by the Aug. 15 deadline, though an electoral court could eventually revoke his candidacy. Lula is one of scores of powerful politicians and businessmen caught up in sweeping corruption probes that have wracked the Brazilian establishment since 2014.
01-25-2018, 10:10 PM
Brazil judge upholds ex-president?s conviction
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