Defying Arrest Deadline, Brazil’s Ex-President Dares Police to Come Get Him
Defying Arrest Deadline, Brazil’s Ex-President Dares Police to Come Get Him Photo Supporters of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil outside the headquarters of the metal workers’ union in São Bernardo do Campo on Friday. The former leader spent Thursday night there as he weighed his response to an arrest warrant. Credit Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times SÃO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil — Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil defied a Friday deadline to report to prison to begin serving a 12-year corruption sentence, daring authorities to haul him away from a union headquarters thronged by his supporters.
As the 5 p.m. deadline neared, Mr. da Silva’s supporters counted down the last five seconds. Then they began chanting: “There is no surrender!”
Mr. da Silva’s decision set the stage for a heated confrontation between the most loyal defenders of a polarizing, yet enormously popular politician, and law enforcement officials who regard his imprisonment as..