{"id":3012,"date":"2019-02-07T15:48:28","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T15:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/?p=3012"},"modified":"2019-02-07T15:48:28","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T15:48:28","slug":"brazils-lula-convicted-again-of-corruption-clouding-his-political-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2019\/02\/07\/brazils-lula-convicted-again-of-corruption-clouding-his-political-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil\u2019s \u2018Lula\u2019 Convicted Again of Corruption, Clouding His Political Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00c3O PAULO, Brazil \u2014 Former President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva of Brazil, who was jailed last April<\/a> on a corruption conviction, was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly 13 more years in a new graft case, making it increasingly unlikely that a man once considered the lion of Latin America\u2019s left would ever recover his political clout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. da Silva, a two-time president who left office in 2011 with a record-high approval rating, was leading in the polls last year to win another term even after he went to jail. But less than a month before the vote, electoral authorities barred him from running<\/a> because of the corruption conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his absence, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate who vowed to eradicate a culture of corruption that he blamed on Mr. da Silva and his Workers\u2019 Party, surged ahead. He was sworn in on Jan. 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. da Silva, 73, denies any wrongdoing, and his supporters have accused the courts and the country\u2019s elites of political persecution to keep him from office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Mr. da Silva had support among Brazil\u2019s poor, he also had a high disapproval rating thanks to the Lava Jato, or Carwash, investigation, which documented the political corruption that flourished during the 13 years his party was in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charges against Mr. da Silva so far have been relatively small chapters in the annals of Lava Jato. He was found guilty in 2017 of accepting a seaside apartment in return for contracts awarded to the construction company O.A.S. and was eventually sentenced to 12 years and one month in prison.You have 2 free articles<\/strong> remaining.Subscribe to The Times<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the new ruling on Wednesday, Judge Gabriela Hardt found Mr. da Silva guilty<\/a> of accepting bribes from construction companies in the form of a $235,000 renovation of a country house and sentenced him to 12 years and 11 months in prison. Mr. da Silva said his name was not on the title of the home, but prosecutors presented evidence that he and his family had occupied it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten other people were convicted, including top executives at the construction companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the sentencing document, Judge Hardt concluded that it was \u201cbeyond a reasonable doubt\u201d that the renovations were funded illicitly by the construction companies Odebrecht and O.A.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the former president \u201cwas aware that there were systematic bribes paid to the party he belonged to; he was very aware that part of those sums were used for his personal benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editors\u2019 Picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Can a Church Founded in 1677 Survive the 21st Century?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gumbo, the Classic New Orleans Dish, Is Dead. Long Live Gumbo.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You Know the Lorena Bobbitt Story. But Not All of It.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. da Silva, who has appealed his first conviction to Brazil\u2019s top courts, is expected to appeal the latest decision, as well. He is a defendant in at least six other cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe persecution of Lula doesn\u2019t stop,\u201d the president of the Workers\u2019 Party, Gleisi Hoffmann, wrote on social media<\/a>. \u201cIn the memory of the people and history, Lula will always be greater than his executioners.\u201d
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

S\u00c3O PAULO, Brazil \u2014 Former President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva of Brazil, who was jailed last April on a corruption conviction, was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly 13 more years in a new graft case, making it increasingly unlikely that a man once considered the lion of Latin America\u2019s left would ever recover his political clout. Mr. da Silva, a two-time… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3013,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012\/revisions\/3013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}