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BRASILIA, Brazil — Despite Brazil’s pollsters largely predicting a first-round victory for former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro fared much better than expected, forcing his leftist opponent into a runoff election at the end of the month.
Yet, for many international observers, it may seem curious that Lula is even in the running, considering his recent conviction for corruption.
“I expected the corruption charges [against Lula] to play a bigger role than they did. But they certainly had some weight with the electorate,” Tiago Cortez, a political adviser for Brazil’s Republican Party, told Fox News Digital.
Cortez also made the point that Lula is very popular in elite circles: “Lula is greatly favored by the media, the artistic class and part of the business community, which spent a decade getting favorable treatment through the National Development Bank. These are sectors that end up making a great financial and media contribution” to his campaign.
The charges against Lula and the Workers Party stem from a pervasive influence peddling and kickback scheme perpetrated by the enormous Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht, which has been accused of lavishing campaign funds on political parties across Latin America in exchange for lucrative construction and infrastructure contracts.
BRAZIL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: JAIR BOLSONARO PROVES POLLS WRONG, FORCES SOCIALIST OPPONENT INTO RUNOFF
Campaign poster for presidential candidate Lula da Silva in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(David Unsworth for Fox News Digital)
Marcelo Odebrecht alleged that Lula had lobbied foreign governments on the company’s behalf in exchange for bribes; the company is alleged to have distributed more than $230 million in bribes to politicians throughout the region.
Following the initial Odebrecht investigation, Brazilian police began investigating Lula and the Workers Party in relation to a similar scheme involving state oil company Petrobras,…
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Source : foxnews
