Fernando Haddad Denounces Persecution Against Progressive Leaders

Fernando Haddad, former candidate for the Brazilian presidency of the Workers' Party (PT), denounced on Tuesday the judicial persecution against the most prominent left-wing political leaders in Latin America.

According to Haddad, anomalous processes are taking place in the region's judicial systems that put popular sovereignty at risk.

'We have to be very careful because this new way of doing politics erodes democracy', warned the former presidential candidate in an interview with the Sputnik agency.

Haddad mentioned the case of former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, against whom eight different cases were opened.

The current senator has repeatedly denounced being the victim of unprecedented political and judicial persecution.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also the target of a legal war and has been serving 12 years and one month in prison since April 2018 for never-proven corruption offences.

Lula was jailed when all the polls gave him as the favorite candidate to win the Brazilian presidency in the October 2018 elections and the PT had to replace him with Fernando Haddad.