Brazil protests over chief of staff appointment

Brazilians have protested in several cities against President Dilma Rousseff after she named her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, chief of staff. In the capital Brasilia, riot police fired pepper spray at protesters outside the presidential palace. Lula is currently being investigated in a major corruption scandal. Hours after the move, the federal judge leading the probe against Lula released phone recordings suggesting Ms Rousseff appointed Lula to spare him arrest. Brazil’s leader, who is herself facing impeachment proceedings, defended the appointment. She said that Lula was a “skilful political negotiator” and experienced leader who would help kick-off economic recovery. She said that the ex-president could also still be prosecuted by the Supreme Court. The release of the telephone recordings, according to BBC, caused an uproar in Congress in Brasilia, with chaotic scenes as opposition leaders gathered around a microphone chanting “resign, resign”. There were also demonstrations in at least three other Brazilian cities. “Theft, corruption, that’s the coup… We’re not clowns. Brazil is better than all of these,” Reuters news agency quoted one Brasilia protester as saying. Lula was briefly detained and questioned earlier this month over allegations of money laundering connected to Operation Car Wash, a massive investigation into corruption at the state oil giant, Petrobras. He denied the allegations, and said that they were aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2018. In the taped telephone conversation released by Judge Sergio Moro, who is overseeing the Petrobas probe, Rousseff offered to send Lula a copy of his appointment “in case of necessity” – interpreted by some as meaning in case he needed it to avoid arrest.