In Brazil, the Battle is Just Beginning

Thousands rallied in Brazil in support of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defied a demand by a court that he surrender before the police on Friday to begin a 12-year jail term. Lula, who has said he will turn himself in on Saturday, spent the previous day at the headquarters of the steelworkers union, where supporters from around the country gathered demanding his freedom.

The direction of the court regarding his surrender came in the aftermath of the Supreme Court rejecting his habeas corpus appeal, which would have allowed him to remain free while he appealed his conviction in a case, where very little evidence of corruption has been produced. The legal proceedings seem clearly aimed at preventing Lula from contesting in the Presidential polls in August. Lula is the favourite to win the elections.

The legal attack on Lula comes after former President Dilma Rousseff was impeached on similarly shaky charges in 2016 in what has been called a constitutional coup. Her successor Michael Termer and a host of right-wing politicians have been accused of far more serious corruption charges, but survive under Congressional protection.

The selective use of legal proceedings has been against those who have worked to break the hegemony of the right and the pro-US forces in Brazil. What we see now in Brazil is the combination of Congressional majority working with a section of the judiciary to thwart the democratic will of the people. Instead of military coups, we are witnessing constitutional and judicial coups in Latin America today.

Lula and Dilma were also active in resisting the hegemony of the United States in the region and in promoting alternatives and formations that strengthened the sovereignty of the countries of Latin America and helped them resist U.S.-led imperialism. It is not surprising that elite interests in Brazil and their collaborators outside have launched this mode of assault on those who would not accommodate their interests. There is, after all, a long history of such incidents, especially in Latin America.

This time, the people are on the streets. In his speech at the union office, Lula declared, “I am no longer a human being, I am an idea. The death of one fighter doesn’t stop the revolution. It’s not worthy to think that everything will stop. My heart will beat through your heart and through the millions of Brazilian hearts...You are all Lula and will do what needs to be done.” Brazil’s people have heard the call.