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Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s efforts to avoid jail in a watershed ruling early Thursday that is expected to land the populist leader behind bars within days and end his bid for re-election.
In a case that has divided this nation and put the country’s three-decade-old democracy to the test, the court’s justices voted 6-5 against the leftist icon, denying his request to remain out of prison while he exhausts all possible appeals against his conviction for corruption.
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The 72-year-old was found guilty last year of accepting a penthouse apartment from a construction firm in exchange for favors, landing him a 12-year prison sentence and marking a dramatic fall from grace for the former shoeshine boy who left office seven years ago as one of the world’s most popular politicians.
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Thursday’s ruling all but ends Lula’s hopes of running in October’s presidential election, a vote polls show he would win. The outcome also propels other potential candidates to the front of the pack, including a right-wing former army captain, Jair Bolsonaro, and the environmentalist Marina Silva.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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