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The arrest of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after his conviction(दोषसिद्धि) in a corruption case is a blow to his Workers’ Party, which hopes to return to power in the October general election. Mr. Lula da Silva, or simply ‘Lula’, had announced he would contest the poll(चुनाव लड़ो), and was the front runner to become President. But after a federal(संघीय/संयुक्त) judge rejected his request to remain free till his appeal options are exhausted(शक्तिहीन/कमज़ोर), his eventful political career — which began as an organiser(आयोजक/संगठनकर्ता) of metal workers when Brazil was under a dictatorship(तानाशाही/अधिनायकत्व) — seems to have come to an end. On Saturday he began his 12-year jail term, and asked supporters to “transform themselves” to keep the revolution(राज्य-क्रान्ति/ going. Over the last few years, Brazil’s judges and prosecutors(अभियोजन पक्ष) had launched a set of investigations into alleged corruption cases that became known as Lavo Jato, or Car Wash, targeting mainly Workers’ Party leaders. Dilma Rousseff, his chosen successor and Brazil’s first woman President, was impeached(संदेह करना/दोषी ठहराना) in August 2016 over allegations of cooking the country’s budget accounts. That brought an end to 13 years of Workers’ Party rule. With Mr. Lula da Silva now behind bars, the Workers’ Party, arguably(यकीनन) the most powerful political organisation in Brazil with a strong base among the country’s poor and the working population, will face a challenge in its election campaign(अभियान/मुहिम) this year.
Prosecutors say Mr. Lula da Silva has been convicted in a proper trial and that he should be treated(इलाज किया) as any other citizen before the law. But his supporters as well as several international observers have raised questions about the judiciary’s stance. The case against him is that he accepted an apartment as bribe(रिशवत/घूस) from a construction company as a quid pro quo for contracts granted. But there is no documentary evidence that either he or his wife owned the apartment, rented(किराए पर) it out or stayed there. The evidence against him is the testimony(गवाही/बयान) of an executive of the company, which prosecutors got as part of a plea(दलील/व्यवहार) bargain(मोल-तोल/लाभ का सौदा). Still the judges found Mr. Lula da Silva guilty as they also concluded that the contracts given out to companies under his rule were overpriced. It is also no secret that several from the establishment(स्थापना/संस्थान) elite(समाज का उत्कृष्ट भाग) wanted him out of politics. On the eve of the Supreme Court hearing of Lula’s appeal, the Army chief tweeted that the military “repudiates impunity”, apparently sending a message to the judiciary. By imprisoning(बन्दी करना) its most popular leader on such weak evidence at a time when the polarised(ध्रुवीकृत) country is ruled by unelected elite(अचयनित कुलीन), the judges may just have heightened the crisis in Brazil’s young, fraught democracy.
Important Vocabulary
1.Revolution(राज्य-क्रान्ति
Synonyms: coup, innovation,insurgency,mutiny,rebellion
Antonyms: calm, harmony, peace, stagnation, calmness
2.Exhausted(शक्तिहीन/कमज़ोर)
Synonyms: dead, disabled, drained, weak, weakened
Antonyms: able, active, energized, firm, strong
3.Impeached(संदेह करना/दोषी ठहराना)
Synonyms: accuse, arraign, criticize, discredit, indict
Antonyms: absolve, exonerate, praise, answer, approve
4.Testimony(गवाही/बयान)
Synonyms: affidavit, data, demonstration, deposition, documentation
Antonyms: denial, opposition, veto
5.Bribe(रिशवत/घूस)
Synonyms: blackmail, compensation, gift, graft, gratuity
Antonyms: hindrance, loss, penalty
6.Imprisoning(बन्दी करना)
Synonyms: apprehend, commit, detain, hold, incarcerate
Antonyms: cease, free, let go, liberate, release
Credits To The Hindu News Paper
