The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has welcomed the quashing of unjust convictions of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the restoration of his political rights.

A Supreme Court judge annulled the convictions on 8 March.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “The judicial persecution of Lula, led by discredited judge Sergio Moro, has come to an end. Lula’s only ‘crime’ was to stand up for the marginalised and the oppressed – something that the conservative forces who wield so much power in Brazil could not accept.

“This decision is a boost for democracy in Brazil, in the region and the world. It removes a heavy stain on politics and the judiciary in Brazil and will give impetus to the quest to turn the corner from the truly corrupt government of current President Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s contempt for the people of the country has undone so many of the achievements of the Lula and Dilma governments, and his COVID-19 denialism has cost many thousands of lives.”