Lula Sentenced to Prison and Tension Mounts Again in Brazil

The Brazilian judge who ordered the imprisonment of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva set off a seismic event in a culture accustomed to impunity for its rich and powerful, and battered the resurgent left.

Judge Sergio Moro on Wednesday gave the man universally known as Lula nine and half years for taking 3.7 million reais ($1.1 million) worth of benefits from a construction company in exchange for favors. The three-year Carwash probe swept scythe-like through Brazil’s ruling class, and came to focus on the former factory worker who once was the nation’s most popular politician -- and a strong contender to regain office.