Lula Spends 175 Days in Prison, PT in Presidential Race

Brasilia, Sep 28 (Prensa Latina) A political prisoner due to the intended purpose of excluding him from the presidential race, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has served 175 days in prison, while the Workers' Party (PT) is running for the presidency at full capacity.

With 24.5 percent of vote intentions, according to the Istoe/Sensus survey published on Thursday night, PT Candidate Fernando Haddad seems to have assured his presence in a possible second round of voting, at which he allegedly will compete against the extreme right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, from the Social Liberal Party (30.6 percent).

Haddad, who was appointed by Lula as his spokesman and government coordinator, replaced the historic leader of the PT in the presidential formula of The People Happy Again coalition on September 11, after the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) refused to register the former present's candidacy.

The current political and electoral process is at a decisive stage, and it is time to work hard to guarantee Haddad's victory in the second round, Lula said on Thursday through PT National President Gleisi Hoffmann, who visited him at the headquarters of the Federal Police Superintendence in Curitiba.

Despite being held there since April 7, Lula designed and led, with evident success, the PT election strategy with possibilities to win the Presidency of the Republic.

On Thursday, the former president warned that in these times for the Latin American peoples, the task is to resist while advancing to overthrow neoliberalism.

Lula expressed his criterion in a letter to the rector of the National University of Comahue, Gustavo Crisafulli, and Professor Pablo Gutierrez to thank them for that Argentinean institution's decision to grant him a Honoris Causa Doctorate, the second such a degree that he has received since he was imprisoned.

The democracies built in Latin America over the past decade are subjected to a ferocious and late attack by neoliberalism, which has already failed in Europe and the United States, leaving behind trails of destruction of the social State and deepening inequalities, Lula noted.

He pointed out that in Latin America, neoliberalism attacks by using major segments of the judicial and legislative powers to remove legitimately elected presidents and imprison popular leaders unjustly through exception measures.