Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the PT candidate for President of the Republic, confessed on Saturday to National magazine, from TV Globo, the existence of corruption in Petrobras during his reign. “You can’t say that there was no corruption if people confessed (to crimes),” said the former president, who faced embezzlement of public funds at a state-owned company.

However, he opposed the plea deal. “People went to confession, and because people went to confession, they got rich in confessions,” he said. The PT did not announce new measures to prevent a recurrence of corruption scandals if it wins the election. He also stated that “Jato’s Lava has gone beyond investigation and into politics.” “The goal was to try to convict Lulu,” PT said, using a third person.

Convicted of passive corruption and money laundering in the Guaruja (SP) triple case, Lula was arrested in April 2018 and served his sentence in a special cell of the Federal Police Department in Curitiba. He was released after a year and seven months, following a decision by the Federal Supreme Court that overturned the possibility of execution after a second-instance conviction.

Lula also made no commitment to support the selection of the Republic’s Attorney General from a triple list elected by the prosecutors. He said he would decide it only after the elections. “I wish they had a little flea behind their ear.”

Thanks to the accelerated speech, he was able to expand his answers without allowing interviewers William Bonner and Renate Vasconcellos to interrupt him. Faced with economic figures in the administration of Dilma Rousseff (PT), the PT member tried to disassociate himself from the former president. He criticized the tax exemption. “Dilma had an extraordinary first term. However, she went into debt to support social policy and (fight) unemployment,” he said.

“You made a mistake about gasoline. Against her was a dynamic duet. Eduardo (Cunha) and Esio (Neves), who tried to keep him from changing. If you ever leave Globo, Bonner, you will know that a dead king is a king.

“JEALOUSY”

In the interview, PT also avoided taking economic measures. He counted on his deputy, Geraldo Alkmin (PSB), to demonstrate confidence in the economic field by promising “trust, stability and predictability.”

“I even envy Alcmina. Alcmine was even accepted by PT. I am 100% sure that his experience as governor of Sao Paulo will help me fix this country,” Lula said, when asked about political polarization and the PT’s responsibility for creating such a climate.

“Brazil and Brazilian democracy were happy when the polarization of this country was between PT and PSDB. We were political opponents, exchanging barbs. When we met at the restaurant, I didn’t have a beer problem with Fernando Enrique Cardoso, José Serra or Alcmin. We didn’t treat each other like enemies.”

Asked if his opponents accused him of not denouncing leftist Latin American dictatorships and could not be seen as a contradiction for a Democrat, Lula was evasive and avoided criticizing governments such as those of Venezuela and Nicaragua. “We must respect the self-determination of peoples. Each country takes care of its own nose,” he replied. “Brazil will be friends with everyone.”

Lula also dealt with the secret budget and said it was worse than a monthly allowance, a congressional vote-buying scandal to approve government-friendly measures during his first term. This was the moment when he criticized President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), a candidate for re-election.

“The presidency is over. Bolsonaro does not send anything, he is a hostage of the Congress. One of our tasks with Alkmin is to put an end to this semi-presidential business. Bolsonaro is like a court jester.” With regard to management, he said he intends to talk to all parties without exception. “Centrão is not a political party. Whoever wins will have to talk to Congress.”

The information is taken from the newspaper. State of Sao Paulo.