Social Unrest In Brazil As Lula Appointed Chief Of Staff

Brasilia: Hundreds of opposition demonstrators clashed in Brasilia after former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as the present President Dilma Rousseff's chief of staff, causing social unrest in the country and forcing the police to use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

Demonstrations also took place in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro amid anger that Lula's appointment will shield the former president from prosecutors who have charged him with money laundering and fraud as part of a sweeping graft probe centered on state oil company ‘Petrobras’. Police said they used pepper spray to stop fighting between the rival groups. They also moved on some 300 opposition protesters who were trying to enter the square, which was occupied by more than 300 pro-government demonstrators.

Shortly after he was sworn in, a federal judge in Brasilia issued an injunction to suspend Lula's appointment on the grounds that it prevented "the free exercise of justice." Prosecutors filed charges against Lula last week accusing him of money laundering and fraud, which he has denied.

During the ceremony where Lula was sworn in, Rousseff praised Lula, who she said was "not just a great politician, but a great friend and comrade of many battles".

On Wednesday, Judge Moro made public a taped phone conversation between Rousseff and Lula which has been interpreted by some to show that Lula was given the post of chief of staff to shield him from prosecution. In the conversation, Rousseff told Lula she would send him the official decree naming him as minister "just to use in case it's necessary".

Rousseff, is now facing pressures to quit. About the ongoing event, she said: "Convulsing Brazilian society with lies, with reprehensible practices violates constitutional rights and as well as the rights of citizens.”