Lula: Brazil's ex-president cleared by a Supreme Court judge

[Judi Lynn]

4. Lula, Bolsonaro trade barbs in possible preview of Brazil election

Former president scolds incumbent's handling of the pandemic
Thomson Reuters · Posted: Mar 10, 2021 10:10 PM ET | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Brazilians got a preview Wednesday of how two powerful political rivals may battle to lead their country next year.
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, the country's current president, both fired an early starting gun on the 2022 election set to be dominated by the raging pandemic, a weak economy and deep political polarization.

In his first public comments since his graft convictions were annulled by a Supreme Court justice on Monday, Lula said he had not decided whether to run in next year's election.

But his long, impassioned speech, delivered under a banner proclaiming "Health, jobs and justice for Brazil" in the union where his political career took off in the 1980s, had the feel of a campaign launch.

"This country is disorganized and falling apart because it has no government," he told the audience at the metalworkers union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, comparing the current economic crisis to strong growth and falling inequality when he previously led Brazil for two presidential terms.

More:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/lula-bolsonaro-pandemic-election-1.5945021