Roundup: Brazil's Lula leads protest against Rousseff impeachment

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Friday evening made a speech to a huge crowd in Sao Paulo, defending embattled incumbent President Dilma Rousseff against the opposition's impeachment attempts.

Lula said those who campaign for Rousseff's impeachment are in retaliation for their defeat by Rousseff in presidential polls, referring to the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

"I lost elections in 1989, 1994 and 1998 and in no moment I went to the streets to protest against those who won. They expected to win, and now they have been trying to get in the way of President Dilma," he said while praising those who went to streets in support of Rousseff.

In the anti-government protest in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, the Sao Paulo Industry Federation, which is openly in favor of impeaching Rousseff, served lunches to protesters who occupied Sao Paulo's most important avenue for 39 hours.

"They dress in yellow and green to say they are more Brazilian than us, but if they bleed, just watch to see if their blood is not red like ours," said Lula, referring to protestors dressed in the colors of the Brazilian flag.

Rousseff's supporters usually appear in red, which happens to be the color of the Working's Party, of which both Lula and Rousseff are members.

Lula was officially sworn in as Rousseff's Chief of Staff on Thursday, which was immediately challenged by several federal judges.

On Friday, the Brazilian supreme court ruled to suspend his inauguration. Lula was only the most recent chapter of the political crisis in Brazil.

On Thursday, a commission was elected in the House of Representatives to weigh the impeachment process on Rousseff. The commission will meet in 10 sessions, in which the president will have the opportunity to defend herself.

The opposition parties have accused Rousseff of trying to protect Lula from corruption investigations by bringing him into the cabinet, since as a cabinet member, Lula could only be tried by the Supreme Court.

Federal Judge Sergio Moro, who heads the Lava Jato investigations as part of corruption cases at oil giant Petrobras, ordered Lula to testify about his supposed ownership of a ranch and a luxury apartment two weeks ago.

Lula's nomination was announced amid the investigation. Moro chose to disclose a series of wiretapped telephone conversations between Lula and Rousseff, which, according to the judge, indicated that the president had nominated Lula to shield him from the courts.

In his speech, Lula denied that he was trying to escape the investigations. He said his only intention when accepting the cabinet position was to make a contribution in the administration.

"I'm not there to fight, I'm there to help comrade Dilma to do what she has to do in this country," he said, "President Dilma still has two years and nine months of government, and that is enough time for us to change this country's history." Endi