A former Brazilian president, recently released from jail, vowed to fight the country’s conservative leader and the political adversaries he blamed for putting him behind bars.
“I’m going to make their lives a living hell,” said Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 74, in a fiery speech at a conference of his leftist Worker’s Party in Sao Paulo on Friday. “I am more willing to fight for this country than in any other moment. You will see me traveling around this country, not only making their lives hell, but also defending the Brazilian people.”
Known as Lula in Brazil, the former president ruled Latin America’s largest country between 2003 and 2010. Despite spending 19 months in jail after being convicted on charges of bribery, many political observers say he is preparing a bid for the 2022 presidential run.
“The Brazilian people want us to be firm,” said da Silva in an interview with Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest daily newspaper. “People want jobs, better lives. This is no time for moderate discourse when it comes to speaking up for the people of this country.”
Da Silva, who was released from prison two weeks ago, has vigorously denied any wrongdoing over allegations that he was awarded a lavish beach-front apartment in exchange for political favors.
He is currently appealing his conviction, and says he was the victim of a witch-hunt by prosecutors and former judge Sergio Moro who is now justice minister in the government of current president Jair Bolsonaro.
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