Lula Da Silva: Brazilian justice acquitted him in …

Brazilian justice acquitted this monday for Lack of evidence to the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in one of the cases Corruption for which he was accused of favoring automakers in exchange for bribes. Former chief of staff Gilberto Carvalho, who was also secretary to the presidency during Dilma Rousseff’s first government, and five others were also acquitted.

According to Judge Frederico Botelho de Barros Viana, research has not “convincingly demonstrated” how the former president and his chief of staff “would have participated in the alleged criminal context”.

“Although there are elements that demonstrate the performance of Mauro Marcondes’ company – Marcondes and Mautoni – regarding the extension of tax benefits to CAOA and MMC companies, there is no adequate and not even minimally capable evidence to demonstrate the existence of an illegal adjustment among the defendants with the aim of transferring sums in favor of Lula and Carvalho ”, established the magistrate in his sentence.

The The prosecutor’s office He accused the former president in 2017 of having amended, in exchange for alleged bribes, a legislative measure aimed at favoring companies in the auto sector by extending tax benefits for five years, but the accusation has been rejected. In the pleadings that took place in May, however, he changed his position and demanded Lula’s acquittal.

Therefore, said the judge, “it is prudent to conclude that the prosecution lacks elements capable of supporting, beyond a reasonable doubt, a possible conviction against the accused”.

The process by which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was acquitted It is framed in the “Operation Zealots”, who has been investigating allegations of irregularities within CARF, the Treasury department responsible for sanctioning tax evaders, since 2015, and which has also hit several prominent bankers and politicians.

Gradually, the various legal procedures resulting from the trial to which the former president was subjected collapse. This year, da Silva, who spent 580 days in prison for alleged corruption, was favored by a Supreme Court ruling that overturned other sanctions against him and thus allowed him to restore his rights policies. Since then, the former president has emerged as a favorite in the polls to rival right-hander Jair Bolsonaro.