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Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hasbeen his nation's dominant, larger-than-life political figure for adecade. So when he retired from public life to treat throat cancerlast year, his silence resonated loudly with friends and enemiesalike. Now, however, Lula is back — but at the center of a newintrigue over an old but lingering scandal. Lula's reappearance in the lead-up to a controversial court caseinvolving the wide-ranging 2005 corruption drama that tarnished hisfirst presidential term has confirmed his role as the eminence grise of Brazilian politics. But allegations that he tried to convince aSupreme Court judge to delay the trial of members of his Workers'Party (PT) until after this coming October's municipal electionshave wider and perhaps uglier implications for a man widelyrecognized as one of the most popular and important leaders inBrazil's history. "Lula wants to be remembered as a president whodid a lot of good things, so he is very zealously trying to defendhis [two terms] in office," says David Fleischer, a politicalscientist in the capital Brasília. "But I think he has puthis legacy in jeopardy because of this." (MORE: The State Visit That Isn't: Is the U.S. Dissing Brazil'sDilma On the Eve of Her Trip?) The new scandal centers around the upcoming trial of 38 peopleaccused of participating in the mensalão , an extensive vote-buying ring allegedly run from inside Planalto,the Brasília presidential palace, to ensure Congressionalsupport during Lula's first term in office from 2003 to 2007. Thegovernment supposedly took cash from the advertising budgets ofstate-run companies and used it to make regular, under-the-tablepayments to congressional deputies who pushed through keylegislation in return. However, although mountains of evidence and scores of witnesseswere produced in front of a parliamentary enquiry that transfixedthe nation, the mensalão scheme (a reference to the "monthly" payments allegedly made todeputies) was never conclusively proven. Lula was comfortablyre-elected in 2006 and has always denied any wrongdoing.Nevertheless, several of his closest allies accused of operatingthe graft were either removed from office or resigned before theycould be impeached. Lula's first chief of staff, JoséDirceu, as well as the PT's treasurer and president, were amongthose forced out, along with several senior PT deputies. What's more, the evidence unearthed by police and congressionalinvestigators was enough for the public prosecutor's office toallege "a criminal plan to buy votes inside Congress." It movedahead with prosecutions, but it is only now that charges rangingfrom racketeering to tax evasion to money laundering are finallybeing brought. There is some urgency to hear the accusationsbecause the statute of limitations is close to expiring in someinstances. Many PT leaders fear that if the evidence is heard inadvance of local elections it could cost the party at the polls. (MORE: The U.S. and Brazil: Why the Two Hemispheric Giants ShouldTake Each Other More Seriously) Among the anxious PT bosses is Lula, according to Veja , a popular Brazilian newsmagazine that is sharply critical of theformer President and the PT. Veja reported last weekend that Lula met with Supreme Court JusticeGilmar Mendes in Brasília last month and hinted that itwould be best if the trial of the 38 was delayed. (Under Brazilianlaw, such cases involving politicians are tried in front of theSupreme Court's 11 justices.) In the magazine report, Mendes saysLula told the judge that if he agreed to delay the trial, the PTwould ensure Mendes did not become a target in another highlycharged corruption investigation under way in Congress. Mendes feltaggrieved and decided to make the overtures known. "I was perplexedwith the president's conduct and misplaces insinuations," Mendestold Veja . The former president, who left office December 31, 2010, withrecord popularity ratings, acknowledges that he met with Mendes butcalls the Veja report "untrue," declaring himself "indignant" at its contents.Lula "never interfered or tried to interfere in Supreme Court orAttorney General's Office decisions involving the so-called mensalão or in any other affair that came under the auspices of thejudiciary or the public prosecutor's office in the eight years hewas President of the Republic," his office said in a statement thisweek. Whatever actually went down in the meeting may end up beingirrelevant. Lula is widely perceived as the loser for simply havingallegedly overreached in a way that stands to sully his otherwiseextraordinary political legacy. The winner, meanwhile, may well bea judicial branch that, for all its sluggish and elitistreputation, refused to be cowed by Lula's towering figure. (MORE: Why Dilma Is Brazil's Best Bet to Revive Its Economy) What happens now depends on two main factors: Lula's behavior andthe court's trial rulings. President Dilma Rousseff, Lula's lastchief of staff and his hand-picked successor, can't have been happywith her former mentor's interference — and if Lula continuesto try and exert a sly influence in Brasília, their closerelationship could sour. That in turn could have implications forRousseff, who had been happy to let Lula run interference in thepolitical back rooms where he is still deeply respected. At the same time, the trial could have a pronounced effect not onlyon the lives of the 38 people standing in the dock but on thefuture of of Brazil's relatively young democracy. "This could be acritical junction in Brazilian history," said Carlos Pereira, apolitical scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio deJaneiro who has written about the case. "It will decide which roadwe go down: If [the accused] are not punished then it sends amessage that people can do what they want and get away with it, butif they are punished it is a sign to other politicians that suchbehavior will not be tolerated." Whether or not, local electionsare coming up. PHOTOS: Fire in Brazil's Samba City PHOTOS: TIME's Pictures of the Week. I am an expert from ceramicdentallaboratory.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Dental Inlays And Onlays , China Porcelain Fused To Metal, Porcelain Fused To Metal,and more.
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