Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 18 July 2018
Brazil's Lula is in jail but never far from the headlines

By SARAH DiLORENZO decided he should remain
Associated Press incarcerated after dramat-
SAO PAULO (AP) — He's ic back-and-forth rulings is-
tweeting about the poli- sued by different judges.
tics of the day. He's offered That chaos may have fur-
commentary on the World ther bolstered the Workers'
Cup. And he's leading polls Party's narrative that the ju-
for October's presidential diciary is unfairly targeting
election. da Silva, Oliveira said.
Yes, he's still in jail. "The voter who is unsure ...
Former Brazilian President who maybe has sympa-
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — thy with the Workers' Party,
universally known as Lula with Lula, but who is not
— has not faded from the content, maybe you put
headlines during his three a bug in this person's ear,"
months behind bars. said Oliveira. "This person
Instead, analysts say his is thinking about voting for
public profile is part of a the Workers' Party again."
risky strategy to attract at- Then again, the turmoil
tention and voters to his on display during the fight
Workers' Party — even if the over whether to release da
ex-president himself is not In this April 5, 2018 file photo, Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves to supporters, Silva could unintentionally
ultimately on the ballot. in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. push voters into the arms of
"The more time the (Work- Associated Press far-right congressman Jair
ers' Party) spends doing Bolsonaro, who is running in
this, the less time there will run for office. promoted his Instagram of da Silva's choosing, if he distant second and prom-
be for another candidate The Superior Electoral Tri- profile and a new YouTube is barred from running. The ises to clean house.
to gain name recognition, bunal will make the final page, although his influ- second is the bet that build- "There's a sense that peo-
to travel the country as decision and is considered ence extends well beyond ing excitement around da ple are tired, this entire ap-
the candidate," said Oliver unlikely to issue a ruling fa- social media. Silva could help in elections paratus is broken, every-
Stuenkel, a professor of in- vorable to him. During the World Cup, he for the lower house of Con- body just acts in their own
ternational relations at the In the meantime, though, wrote commentaries that gress, where voters can self-interest," said Stuenkel.
Fundacao Getulio Vargas da Silva seems to be every- were read out on a TV sta- choose a party rather than He said that some voters
university in Sao Paulo. where. tion allied with his party. a specific candidate. might ultimately think: "'Our
The Workers' Party publicly Every few days, his aides Supporters can also down- Much of the fanfare may country's rudderless, we
maintains there is no Plan post messages from him on load a paper mask of his be preaching to the con- need someone who shows
B: They say da Silva's con- his Twitter account. face from his website or verted, and Crispiniano, us how to get out of this
viction last year on cor- In one recent tweet, for learn from a video how to the spokesman, notes that very difficult situation.'"
ruption charges related example, he questioned say "Lula" in sign language. da Silva's allies have no For now, da Silva continues
to the country's sprawling whether the government The media blitz appears to control over whether or to be in the spotlight. After
Car Wash investigation was had "any notion of the suf- have two goals, said Vitor how the Brazilian press cov- another judicial ruling last
unjust, and they intend to fering of a father or mother Oliveira, director of analy- ers the former president. week that said he can't
register his candidacy in who can't provide suste- sis at Pulso Publico, a politi- But last week, da Silva give interviews from jail or
August, despite a law that nance for his or her family." cal consulting firm. The first commanded the nation's record campaign material,
bars candidates who have In another, he criticized a is the hope that keeping attention for an entire day his social media accounts
had a conviction upheld. government privatization da Silva as the candidate as a judicial battle unfold- posted a previously unre-
Jose Crispiniano, a spokes- plan as selling "the country for as long as possible will ed over whether he should leased interview conduct-
man for da Silva, contends in a liquidation sale, with- increase the chances that be released from jail. The ed before he was incarcer-
the law allows candidates out a care for tomorrow." voters will throw their sup- president of an appeals ated and promised there
with pending appeals to Lately, the account has port to another candidate court finally stepped in and were more to come.q

Argentina airport evacuated due to grenade-like pot grinder

Associated Press ing. layed due to the evacu-
BUENOS AIRES, Argen- "Someone must have ation in Mar del Plata,
tina (AP) — It looked discarded the artifact about 250 miles (400 ki-
like a grenade and trig- before boarding on a lometers) southeast of
gered the evacuation plane," Alejandro Itzco- the Argentine capital.
of an Argentine airport. vich told local TV. In 2016, flights were also
But it turns out that it was He said that authorities delayed at Bellingham
just a marijuana grinder. "confirmed that it was International Airport in
The head of Argentina's not an explosive and Washington state af-
national airport po- we're now trying to de- ter a marijuana grinder
lice security said Tues- termine who the owner designed to resemble
day that the grenade- of this object is." a grenade was found
shaped object found at Photographs showed in a man's carry-on lug-
Astor Piazzolla airport in an officer in a bomb suit gage. Something similar
In this photo, an officer holds a pot grinder made in the shape of a grenade, the coastal city of Mar holding the grinder in his happened earlier that
which triggered evacuation of the Astor Piazzolla airport in Argentina,
Tuesday, July 17, 2018. del Plata was actually hand while colleagues year at California's Sac-
Associated Press used to break pot into looked at it and smiled. ramento International
smaller pieces for smok- Several flights were de- Airport.q