Political crisis in Brazil deepens

Brazil’s political crisis deepened as judges filed injunctions to block the appointment of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as chief of staff to his successor following a tumultuous swearing-in ceremony and heated protests.

The first of the injunctions was overturned by a higher court, the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency said. But another was issued immediately by a second judge in Rio de Janeiro, adding to the country’s political confusion.

President Dilma Rousseff’s opponents accuse her of trying to help the once-popular Silva avoid legal woes. He was taken in for questioning in a sprawling corruption probe less than two weeks ago.

Cabinet members cannot be investigated, charged, or imprisoned unless authorised by the Supreme Court.

Rousseff has insisted the Cabinet appointment has nothing to do with any legal problems, saying Silva would help put the country back on track economically and spearhead the fight against attempts to oust her over allegations of fiscal mismanagement.

The impeachment process moved a step closer as the lower house established a special commission on the matter.

The simmering anger that bought an estimated three million people onto the streets in nationwide anti-government demonstrations over the weekend again spilled over, with protests flaring on Thursday in Brasilia and Sao Paulo, where demonstrators brandished inflatable dolls of Silva in black-and-white prison stripes.

A pro-Silva rally was to be held last night, but it was not clear whether the former leader would attend.