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Brazil to investigate attack on Lula Institute

Xinhua, August 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Brazil's federal police will help investigate a recent attack on the headquarters of the Lula Institute, founded by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Justice Minister Luiz Eduardo Cardozo said on Friday.

The attack occurred on late Thursday. Security cameras showed that a small homemade bomb was thrown from a car at the institute's front door, which exploded and caused some damage to the structure. The Lula Institute said no one was hurt.

Cardozo said protective measures for the institute might be necessary, as there is a possibility that the attack was politically motivated. In a statement to the press, the Lula Institute said the attack was politically motivated.

The Lula Institute is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that focuses on political studies and cooperation between Brazil and Africa and South America. It was founded in 2011 by Lula after he finished his second presidential term. Lula works at the institute and uses it as his main office.

The institute has recently attracted media attention because a local construction company, Camargo Correa, which is being investigated for corruption in contracts with oil giant Petrobras, made donations to the institute between 2011 and 2013.

In its defense, the institute said the donations were legal and widely known, as the company had publicly declared their donations to the institute in the past. Endi