Lula Hunkers Down in Union Office After Arrest Deadline Passes

Uncertainty surrounded the fate of Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva late on Friday, as he hunkered down for another night at his former union headquarters in a working class suburb of Sao Paulo after a deadline to turn himself in to police expired.

Hours later, Lula’s lawyers filed a new appeal to the Supreme Court to delay or reverse the arrest warrant. An earlier request had been turned down that afternoon. Throughout the day thousands of supporters gathered outside the metalworkers union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, where Lula launched his political career in the late 1970s.