Brazil farming leader blasts former president Lula's re-election bid

FILE PHOTO: President of the National Agriculture Confederation Joao Martins attends the launching ceremony of a sustainability program by the National Agriculture Confederation (CNA) farmers union in Brasilia, Brazil April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The head of Brazil's powerful farm lobby declared the country had no room for the return of a president who had been jailed for corruption, Joao Martins said at a National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) conference on Wednesday.

Though he did not mention former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by name, Martins was clearly referring to the leftist leader who is the front-runner ahead of the October elections.