Brazil: Workers' Party Says Lula Will Still Run for President

Brazil's Workers' Party has released a statement saying that former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva continues to be their presidential candidate following his lost appeal against a 2017 corruption conviction yesterday. 

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The party said there will be no surrendering “before injustice” and that the people will not "passively sit by" and "watch democracy and the will of the majority be trashed."

“We will confirm Lula's (presidential) candidacy during our party convention and register him on Aug. 15, rigorously adhering to the electoral legislation,” the party said in a statement.

It went on to note that "if they believe that this history ends with the judgement (handed to Lula) today, they are very fooled, because we will not surrender before this injustice."

"The left-wing parties, social movements ... we are all more united than ever before, strengthened by the days of struggle that have mobilized the masses over the past few months."

The statement concluded that the “will of the people will, once again, carry our fellow, Lula, to the Presidency of the Republic.

Following the judicial ruling to uphold Lula's conviction, the former head of state gave a speech in Republic Square in the capital city Sao Paulo, where he said, “just wait, we will return.”

He went on to say that he doesn't want people to be “concerned” about him, but to be “concerned with the 210 million Brazilians, above all the workers,” according to Brasil 24/7. He added that “they can detain Lula, but they cannot detain a dream of liberty, they cannot detain ideas, they cannot detain hope.”