President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in an exclusive interview with broadcaster Record that his eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva — known as Lulinha — must defend himself against the accusations he faces, and insisted that no one is above the law. The remarks were released on Sunday (23), the day the full interview was set to air on the Sunday-night program Domingo Espetacular, amid a Federal Police (PF) investigation involving Lulinha and the president's former chief of staff, Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, nicknamed Marcola.
Asked about the probes, Lula said it is not his role to act as judge, prosecutor or police chief, and denied any intention of interfering with the investigators' work, according to excerpts of the interview reported by InfoMoney and the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
"I am not a president who tries to ban investigations. I don't threaten to fire ministers. I don't threaten to punish police chiefs. Let them investigate. And everyone has the right to prove they are innocent," the president said.
Lula added that the same rule applies to his own son. "This goes for my son, it goes for anyone. No one is [above the law] if they do wrong," he said. According to InfoMoney, the president also said that if proven irregularities caused losses to public coffers, those responsible "will have to pay."
Probe involves lobbyist and former chief of staff
According to Folha de S.Paulo, Lulinha was named as an indirect beneficiary of the work of lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger, who sought political contacts to facilitate the sale of a medication to the federal government. Marcola, a trusted aide who at times placed phone calls for the president — who does not have a cell phone — was also targeted by the PF on suspicion of receiving undue advantages, including financial ones, to assist the lobbyist.
"My son knows that if he made a mistake, he will be tried, he will be punished or he will be acquitted. But he has to prove his innocence," Lula said. The president also said there are "many insinuations" surrounding the case and urged caution in the face of unproven accusations, according to InfoMoney.
In explaining the guidance he gives his son, Lula drew on his own history with investigations and mentioned his late ex-wife Marisa Letícia, Lulinha's mother, who he said "died because of the Car Wash operation," the sweeping corruption probe — known in Portuguese as Lava Jato — that the president publicly blames for her death.
The remarks come in a presidential election year. According to Folha, a key element of the Workers' Party (PT) strategy on the case is to stress that, under the current government, the Federal Police is free to investigate, in contrast with the administration of Jair Bolsonaro, which faced repeated allegations of interference in the force to protect his sons — among them Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), who is now running for president.