| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Supreme Court justice in Brazil blocks post for ex-president |
| 2016-03-20 |
| [TOWNHALL] A Supreme Court judge suspended former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's nomination to a Cabinet post amid corruption investigations, a decision likely to stoke tensions in a country already rocked by dueling pro- and anti-government demonstrations. In his ruling late Friday, Justice Gilmar Mendes called Silva's appointment as current President Dilma Rousseff's chief of staff a clear attempt to help the once wildly popular ex-leader get around his legal woes. Two weeks ago, Silva was brought in for questioning in a sprawling investigation into an alleged kickback scheme in the state oil company Petrobras. If he becomes a Cabinet minister, Silva can only be prosecuted with the approval of the Supreme Court and his appointment sparked an outcry from critics who said Rousseff was seeking to shield her mentor from prosecution. "The goal of the falsity is clear: prevent the carrying out of a preventative arrest order" against Silva being considered by a lower court, Mendes wrote in his ruling. Both Rousseff and Silva deny the accusations, and on Friday tens of thousands demonstrators rallied behind them and Brazil's center-left government. Anti-government protests last weekend brought an estimated 3 million people onto the streets in nationwide. |
| Posted by:Fred |