Former Brazilian leader, Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, was convicted on corruption charges on Wednesday in the
first of five graft trials he faces. The two-term president was sentenced to
nine and half years in prison but would remain free on appeal.
The ruling marked a stunning fall for Lula, Brazil’s first working-class president who left office six years ago with an 83 per cent approval rating.
The former union leader won global admiration for transformative social
policies that helped reduce stinging inequality in Latin America’s biggest
country. Former U.S. President Barack Obama once labeled him the most popular
politician on earth. The verdict represented the highest-profile conviction yet
in the sweeping corruption investigation that rattled Brazil for over three
years. This revealed a sprawling system of graft at top levels of business and
government and threw the country’s political system into disarray. Judge Sergio
Moro found Lula guilty of accepting 1.2 million dollars (3.7 million reais)
worth of bribes from engineering firm OAS SA. The amount prosecutors said the
company spent refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his help
winning contracts with state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro.The ruling marked a stunning fall for Lula, Brazil’s first working-class president who left office six years ago with an 83 per cent approval rating.
SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/brazil-jails-former-president-lula/
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