Lula asks his son to clarify his involvement with Careca from the INSS, say assistants

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke last week by telephone, according to aides, with his son Fabio Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, regarding suspected involvement with lobbyist Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, the “Careca of the INSS”. The lobbyist is one of the main people being investigated in the scheme of undue discounts on pensions.

According to reports, Lula instructed his eldest son to provide all necessary clarifications about the case and be available to the institutions.

In the conversation, the president also said that, if his son is innocent, he must defend himself and then seek to portray his honor. This is the second time that Lula has spoken to Fábio Luís since the investigation began. Lulinha has lived in Spain since last year.

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The progress of the investigations has worried the Palácio do Planalto, which is calculating possible electoral damage to Lula’s image. The investigation into suspected links between Lulinha and characters involved in INSS fraud is the opposition’s main bet to wear down Lula.

Documents being analyzed by the INSS Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) show that Lulinha moved R$19.5 million in four years in one account. The records show three transfers made by Lula, totaling R$721,300. The defense of the president’s son denies any wrongdoing.

In addition to removing Lulinha from the opposition’s main target, the PT’s entourage has a strategy of comparing the difference in stance between Lula and that of former president Jair Bolsonaro regarding investigations involving his children:

— Bolsonaro changed five directors of the PF (at the time of the investigations against Flavio Bolsonaro in the rachadinhas case), intimidated the Minister of Justice at the time (Sergio Moro), while Lula has encouraged investigations with independence and autonomy from the institutions — argues Lulinha’s lawyer, Marco Aurélio de Carvalho.