Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during his visit to the Brazilian Navy Command, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Credit: Eraldo Peres/AP.)
SÃO PAULO – During an interview with an Argentinian TV station aired on March 30, Pope Francis claimed that Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, convicted of bribery and imprisoned in 2018, and former President Dilma Rousseff, impeached due to alleged budgetary manipulation in 2016, were both victims of judicial persecution.
His comments sparked anger among the supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro and other conservatives.
The pontiff’s one-hour-long interview with journalist Gustavo Sylvestre of the Argentinian news channel C5N was recorded prior to his hospitalization on March 29. They discussed several themes, including Latin American politics and the Argentinian upcoming elections in October.
At this point, Sylvestre asked him about the lawfare thesis, the alleged instrumentalization of the juridical system by political forces in order to persecute and criminalize electoral opponents.
Posted by 