May Day marchers in Brazil demand Lula s release from jail
Sao Paulo May 2 (IANS) The marchers in Brazil on the occasion of International Workers Day have demanded the release of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who has been serving a prison sentence on a corruption conviction since April 7.
The major labour unions in Brazil organised a thousands-strong demonstration on Tuesday in the city of Curitiba near the police precinct where Lula is serving a 12-year and one-month sentence Efe news reported.
This is the first time since the end of Brazil s 1964-1985 military regime that these unions have marched together on May Day with one common slogan -- "Defending rights and demanding Lula s release".
The demonstration centred on demanding the release of the former two-term president a metalworker who forged his leadership in Sao Paulo s labour union movement although other issues also came to the fore including the austerity policies of current head of state Michel Temer whose approval rating stands at 6 percent.
"Workers have never been under such attack with a loss of rights and rising unemployment and poverty. In addition we now see Brazil s best former president become a political prisoner " Wagner Freitas head of the CUT labour federation said.
May Day marches were also held in Sao Paulo Brazil s largest city as well as in Rio de Janeiro Brasilia the country s capital and cities in at least 10 other states.
Lula 72 who continues to lead the polls ahead of October s presidential election was convicted for allegedly accepting an apartment in exchange for helping Brazilian construction company OAS obtain lucrative contracts from state oil company Petrobras in the context of a larger $2 billion corruption scandal centred on the oil giant.
The former president maintains his innocence while prosecutors have failed to produce any evidence that Lula was the legal owner of the residence or even that he ever set foot inside.
"There is a growing awareness that this was all just a manoeuvre to prevent Lula from running in the 2018 elections " former Cabinet minister Fernando Haddad said.
President Temer s policies were also deplored during Brazil s May Day marches including a constitutional ceiling on government spending and an overhaul of labour laws that is expected to lead to lower wages amid an unemployment rate of 13.1 per cent.
Tuesday s demonstrations also included calls to end violence against leftist movements and activists just two days after a shooting attack against the "Free Lula" protest camp in Curitiba left two people injured and a little over a month after Rio de Janeiro city councillor Marielle Franco was assassinated.
--IANS
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