FILE PHOTO: Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures during the inauguration of the new National Directory of the Workers' Party, in Brasilia, Brazil July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The graft conviction Wednesday of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a front-runner for next year's presidential election, opens the door for an outsider to take power in Latin America's largest country, political experts said.
Lula, a giant on the Brazilian political scene who led Brazil from 2003 to 2011, has said he wants to run for president again next year. But if his nearly 10-year sentence is upheld on appeal, Lula, a founder of the leftist Workers Party, would be barred from seeking office again for eight years, beginning after any jail time is complete.
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