After resulting in the impeachment of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the ongoing corruption scandal surrounding state-owned energy firm Petroleo Brasileiro has swept up yet another major political figure. On Sept. 20, federal judge Sergio Moro accepted corruption charges against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his wife, the director of his institute and five former executives of construction company OAS. Da Silva is accused of accepting over $1 million in bribes and of masterminding the Petrobras kickback scheme at the center of the scandal. Each of the three corruption cases against him carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and though no trial date has been set, it will likely be held by the end of next year.
Da Silva is the Workers' Party candidate for the country's approaching presidential election, which is scheduled to take place in 2018. If Moro finds da Silva guilty of corruption, he could appeal to the Regional Federal Court to try to secure his freedom. However, should the higher court find him guilty as well, the former president would be barred from competing for his old position in two years. In fact, he may be prohibited from running for any office for at least eight years.
Because the Workers' Party has few other viable candidates for the presidency, da Silva's sidelining would greatly weaken the party's chances of performing well in the next race. In a bid to garner popular support and undermine the prosecution's case, the Workers' Party has accused the federal prosecutor of using corruption charges as a political tool to prevent da Silva from becoming a presidential contender. The party has begun labeling the court cases, both at home and abroad, as a coup aimed at blocking the Workers' Party from regaining control of the government.
The allegations against da Silva have already dealt a blow to his popularity. Even so, he still has a good deal of support in some segments of Brazilian society. A July poll by Datafolha showed da Silva to be the frontrunner for the 2018 election. He boasted a 22 percent approval rating, followed by Sustainability Network candidate Marina Silva at 17 percent and Brazilian Social Democracy Party candidate Aecio Neves at 14 percent. Given the level of popular backing da Silva still has, his elimination from the race could trigger protests by his constituents and the Workers' Party, who have no other candidates to field in his stead in the coming presidential race.
