'Brazil governed by madmen': international press reacts to Lula's interview

Current Brazil Network - The international press reported on the first interview given by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as a political prisoner, granted on Friday (26) to the newspapers Folha de S.Paulo and El Pais, highlighting Lula's statement that Brazil has come to be governed "by a bunch of lunatics" and that he will fight to show the Brazilian people and the world Sergio Moro's schemes to incriminate him and remove him from the electoral race.

France's leading newspaper, Le Figaro, highlighted Lula's "obsession," calling him an icon of the left, with proving his innocence, even if it costs him his freedom. "I want to leave here with my head held high, as I entered: innocent. Many people thought I would have to flee, leave Brazil, or take refuge in an embassy. But I decided that my place was here. I can stay in prison for a hundred years, but I will not trade my dignity for my freedom," the newspaper reported.

The British newspaper The Guardian highlighted Lula's description of Bolsonaro's government members as "lackeys of the United States," and quoted one of his statements on the subject: "I have never seen a president salute the American flag. I have never seen a president go around saying 'I love the United States. You should love your mother, you should love your country.' What is this about loving the United States? Does anyone really think the United States is going to favor Brazil?", quotes The Guardian.

The American news channel Fox News, citing a report from the Associated Press, also chose to emphasize that Lula wants to prove his innocence regarding the convictions he received due to irregularities committed by the Lava Jato task force. "I am obsessed with unmasking Judge Moro and those who sentenced me. I want to expose the farce orchestrated by the United States Department of Justice."

The Russian news agency Sputnik reported Lula's comparison, during the interview, of the treatment he receives from the Brazilian press compared to that of Bolsonaro. "Imagine if Bolsonaro's militiamen were friends of my family," the website highlighted – in addition to Bolsonaro himself residing in the same condominium as one of those accused of assassinating Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco (PSOL-RJ), Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PSL-RJ), the president's son, honored and employed relatives of a militiaman when he was a state deputy in Rio.

The Argentinian newspaper Página 12 quoted the passage from the interview in which Lula states the "madness" that has befallen the Brazilian government. "Let's do a general self-criticism in this country. What cannot happen is Brazil being governed by this bunch of lunatics. The country doesn't deserve this, and above all, the people don't deserve this," the newspaper wrote.

In the Spanish version of the interview produced by the Brazilian branch, El País highlighted: "Lula is in prison, he wants to talk and he knows that this interview is an opportunity to do so after a year of being silenced by imprisonment."

The multinational broadcaster teleSUR recalled the legal process that made the interview possible. "The former president made his statements during the interview, which was authorized on April 18th by the president of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF), José Antonio Dias Tóffoli, following a legal procedure for its realization."

With information from Opera Mundi