Lula's woes amplify president's

The money-laundering charges against Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva deepened the crisis engulfing his protege and successor Dilma Rousseff on Thursday.

Speculation swirled on how Rousseff, who is already facing an impeachment drive, a spiraling scandal at the state oil company and a bruising recession, would respond to the charges filed Wednesday against the once wildly popular Lula.

Brazilian media reports said Rousseff's left-wing allies were pressuring her to name Lula to a heavyweight ministerial post, which -- their argument reportedly goes -- would both leverage the ex-president's charisma to get the administration out of crisis and protect him from criminal charges in an ordinary court.

Under Brazilian law, cabinet ministers can only be tried before the Supreme Court.

"What team wouldn't want to line up Pele on the field?" Minister Ricardo Berzoini told journalists, alluding to the possible cabinet post in a metaphor equating Lula with the legendary Brazilian footballer.

Others warned that such a scheme would only deepen the mess for Rousseff.
"This idea of Lula as a minister is dubious, but if it happens it will be very bad for the government because it will be perceived as a move to protect him," political analyst Sergio Praca told AFP.

The opposition has called a national day of protests for Sunday that is expected to draw massive turnout in cities across Brazil.

The demos are aimed at pressuring lawmakers as they prepare to vote in the coming weeks on the impeachment case against Rousseff.

Lula, the president who led Brazil through a watershed period of prosperity from 2003 to 2011, was charged Wednesday with hiding ownership of a luxury triplex apartment at a seaside resort in Sao Paulo state.

More details were to be given at a press conference on Thursday.
A judge must still formally accept the charges -- which Lula denies -- for the case to proceed.

The allegations come on top of a separate, much broader federal probe called Operation Car Wash that has uncovered a massive corruption scheme centered on state oil firm Petrobras, the largest company in Brazil.

Executives at Petrobras allegedly took bribes in exchange for giving contracts to big construction firms and other contractors, who then massively overbilled the oil company.

Politicians from several parties, including the ruling Workers' Party, joined the sprawling scam, with bribe money feeding into campaign coffers, prosecutors say.

The corruption scandal, which has already seen a Who's Who of Brazilian politicians and businessmen face charges, is believed to be the biggest ever in Brazil.
Lula is now the highest-profile figure to be snared.

Police briefly detained him for questioning last Friday and Car Wash prosecutors said they suspected that the triplex apartment in question was given to him as a bribe by OAS, one of the companies accused of participating in the conspiracy.

Lula's lawyer, Cristiano Zanin Martins, told Folha de Sao Paulo news site that the allegations "confirm the lack of impartiality with which this matter is being conducted."

- Is Rousseff next? -

Rousseff, a former urban guerrilla during Brazil's military dictatorship who rode Lula's coattails to become the country's first woman president, faces multiple problems of her own.

Congress is mulling impeachment proceedings over alleged illegalities in the government budget. Meanwhile, the Supreme Electoral Court is considering a case that could, eventually, result in judges declaring her 2014 reelection invalid.

So far, Rousseff has managed to fight off impeachment, but the opposition has been fired up by the case against Lula and hopes that Sunday's protests will send a powerful message to Congress.

Analysts say Rousseff could also be in the sights of Operation Car Wash prosecutors.

She has not been directly accused of wrongdoing, but was chairman of Petrobras during much of the period when the corruption allegedly took place.

A Brazilian magazine caused waves last week when it reported that a Workers' Party senator accused in the scheme has promised to testify in a plea bargain that Rousseff tried to block the investigation.
Source: AFP