> It seems impossible to assess whether one of the two is in fact not guilty of the crimes they were charged for.
It's actually not, a cursory understanding of Brazilian politics is all that's needed to understand this in context. Lula was essentially "acquitted" for his crimes, as it was proved after he served a few years in prison that the charges were brought under false pretenses by partisan operators. (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/04/brazil-crimi...)
It was also quite convenient for liberals and the right wing at the time to jail Lula, as he was at the apex of his popularity and was making life hard for the Brazilian bourgeoisie. Bolsonarism can essentially be read as a revolt of the Brazilian elite against Lula's economic policies which stepped on the toes of a few powerful sectors of the Brazilian capitalist class.
Lula has a long history of successfully managing capitalism as a socialist. Brazilian politics is extremely corrupt and pay-to-play, and the Bolsonaros are essentially a crime family in their own right. Flavio, the son running for president, has been convicted of embezzlement when he was a state congressman and is literally under investigation right now for money laundering and bank fraud.
It's actually not, a cursory understanding of Brazilian politics is all that's needed to understand this in context. Lula was essentially "acquitted" for his crimes, as it was proved after he served a few years in prison that the charges were brought under false pretenses by partisan operators. (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/04/brazil-crimi...)
It was also quite convenient for liberals and the right wing at the time to jail Lula, as he was at the apex of his popularity and was making life hard for the Brazilian bourgeoisie. Bolsonarism can essentially be read as a revolt of the Brazilian elite against Lula's economic policies which stepped on the toes of a few powerful sectors of the Brazilian capitalist class.
Lula has a long history of successfully managing capitalism as a socialist. Brazilian politics is extremely corrupt and pay-to-play, and the Bolsonaros are essentially a crime family in their own right. Flavio, the son running for president, has been convicted of embezzlement when he was a state congressman and is literally under investigation right now for money laundering and bank fraud.