Rio de Janeiro: Latin America's leftist leaders are outraged over a Brazilian court ruling that gave the green light for former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to be jailed within days.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry called the ruling “the most grotesque injustice”.
Bolivia and Uruguay, as well as Argentina’s former president, agreed with Venezuela, describing the decision as a right-wing plot to keep Lula out of the October presidential race.
On Thursday, Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected Lula’s request to stay out of jail until he had exhausted all appeals against his corruption conviction. The court ruling makes it practically impossible for Lula to contest the October 7 presidential elections, which he had been expected to easily win.
Lula can now be detained once judge Sergio Moro issues an arrest warrant for him, widely expected to happen by next week.
Moro initially sentenced him to nine-and-a-half years in prison, and an appeals court in Porto Alegre raised the sentence to 12 years.
“This injustice hurts the soul,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tweeted.
Bolivian President Evo Morales said that “the oligarchy is not interested in democracy or justice.”
“The real reason for the verdict on brother Lula is to prevent him from again becoming president of Brazil,” Morales tweeted.
Uruguayan Vice-President Lucia Topolansky said there was no proof of Lula having owned the beachside penthouse, the renovation of which led to his corruption conviction.
Uruguay’s former president Jose Mujica, an icon of the Latin American left, published a letter to Lula: “Dear Lula, social classes exist and the dominant ones cannot stand that those who have been submitted seek power.
“I know the fight continues, and will continue, despite the judges and the press.”
Argentina's former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner stressed that Lula was about to win the election. She added that “the elites of power are using the judicial apparatus to proscribe him.”
Lula’s own Workers’ Party said that he was innocent and called Thursday “a tragic day.”
The 72-year-old was convicted of corruption and money-laundering in July in connection with the renovation.
It was bankrolled by a company seeking contracts with the state oil giant Petrobras.
The case was linked to the massive Lava Jato corruption scandal surrounding Petrobras, which has led to dozens of entrepreneurs and politicians being jailed.