President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) cried on Thursday (15) when recalling the 580 days he spent in the Federal Police jail in Curitiba. In a speech during the event to reinaugurate the operations of the Fertilizantes Araucária Nitrogenados S.A. plant, the PT candidate spoke about his experience in prison and made forceful statementsabout those involved in his judicial process.
Lula said he was “smart” to turn himself in to the Federal Police, and made severe criticisms of former judge and current senator Sérgio Moro (União Brasil-PR), calling him “insignificant”.
The president also accused former deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Novo-PR) and other prosecutors of forming a “gang within the Public Prosecutor’s Office” that, according to him, acted in his process.
“I made the decision, and it was the wisest one I made, to say: ‘I’m going to turn myself in to the Federal Police and I’m going inside’. I’m going close to that insignificant judge. I’m close to those prosecutors who were part of a gang in the Public Prosecutor’s Office. I’m going there to prove my innocence,” he said, visibly moved.
Lula’s imprisonment began in April 2018, after he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for passive corruption and money laundering in the Guarujá triplex case, judged by Moro during Operation Car Wash.
The head of the Executive was released in November 2019, after 580 days of detention, when the Federal Supreme Court ordered the return of the lawsuits to the 1st Instance. This allowed Lula to run for president in 2022, an election he won.
Lula and his memory
During his speech, Lula shared a personal memory about his experience in prison.
“There are people who can record a song they like for the rest of their lives. Because my music was 3 ‘good mornings’: morning, afternoon and night. Every single day, during the 580 days, whether it was cold, hot or raining, whether it was Sunday or a long holiday, I saw from the cell where I was the people singing happy birthday, celebrating my birthday, and that marked my life,” he concluded.
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