No one was hurt and the former president was not in either of the two buses, which were traveling in southern Brazil

Gunshots hit two buses in a caravan for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s campaign tour in southern Brazil on Tuesday, officials in his Workers’ party said.

No one was hurt, and the former president was not in either of the two buses, which were carrying guests and journalists. Nails had also been placed along the caravan’s route, piercing the tyres of one bus, the party said.

Lula has been traveling around southern Brazil to rally support for another presidential run in October. But the former president has been convicted of corruption, and it looks increasingly likely that he will be jailed and barred from contesting the election.

In a sign of how divisive the once spectacularly popular leader has become, his caravan has been the target of protests, and his buses have previously been pelted with eggs and stones.

“If they think that that they can do away with my will to fight, they are wrong,” Lula said at a rally Tuesday night. “The day I cannot shout anymore, I will shout through your throats! The day my mind stops thinking, I will think through your minds!”

Gleisi Hoffmann, the Workers’ party president, complained in a statement that authorities had not provided enough security for the caravan and later called the attack an attempted homicide. Officials noted that Paraná state is the only one the caravan has passed through that has not provided a police escort.

“It’s not normal in a democracy that people fire on a democratic caravan,” Hoffmann told supporters on Tuesday night.

The public security minister, Raul Jungmann, called the attack unacceptable and said he would ensure that state authorities paid close attention to the investigation.</s>Two campaign buses belonging to ex-Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were hit by gunfire during his tour of a southern state Tuesday evening, according to local media reports.

Two of the three buses that made up the former president’s caravan were hit by four bullets, while traveling without a police escort in Parana state. Photos published in the Brazilian news media showed holes in the side of the vehicle carrying journalists accompanying Lula’s visit. No was reported as injured.

Since leaving office in 2010 with sky-high approval ratings, Lula has become a deeply polarizing figure in Brazil, idolized by many on the left for the legacy of his social policies and loathed on the right for the corruption that flourished under his Workers’ Party government. He is the front-runner in opinion polls for the 2018 presidential election, but he is also likely to be banned after being convicted of graft and money-laundering. A Supreme Court ruling, due April 4, is likely to determine whether he goes to jail, possibly as soon as next week.

As Lula’s legal cases have wound their way through the Brazilian court system, the ex-president has been traveling the country rallying supporters. But he has also courted protests in many areas, including Sunday in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina where his campaign bus was hit by eggs and stones.</s>Shots fired at Lula’s campaign bus in Brazil, nobody hit

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is greeted by supporters during a rally in Sao Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil March 23, 2018. — Reuters pic BRASILIA, March 28 — Three shots were fired yesterday at buses in the campaign convoy of former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is again running for the presidency, but no one was injured, the leader of his Workers Party (PT) said.

The incident occurred as the convoy was traveling between towns in southern Brazil as part of a campaign tour for Lula, who is trying to make a comeback in the October 7 presidential election.

“Our convoy is being targeted by fascist groups,” Lula wrote on Twitter.

“They have already thrown eggs, stones. Today they fired a shot at a bus,” he said.

Workers Party leader Gleisi Hoffmann told AFP by telephone that two shots hit a bus carrying reporters and a third shot hit a different vehicle.

Hoffmann said she and Lula were travelling in the only bus that was not hit.

The party leader also said they were attempting to determine if Lula was the target of an assassination attempt.

The alleged shooting came two days after Lula and his entourage were pelted with eggs and stones while on a campaign stop. An angry Lula wrote on his website at the time that "vandals, fascists" were to blame.

Although still widely popular in Brazil, the 72-year-old Lula is campaigning under a dark legal cloud that could yet scupper his attempt to return to power.

On Monday, a Brazilian court rejected his appeal against a corruption conviction that could see him imprisoned for 12 years and disqualified from holding public office.

The ex-president remains free while the Supreme Court considers his argument that he should not be imprisoned until he has exhausted all of his appeal options. The court said it would rule on that on April 4. — AFP</s>Gunshots hit two buses in a caravan for former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's campaign tour in southern Brazil on Tuesday, officials in his Worker's Party said. No one was hurt.

Da Silva wasn't in either of the two buses, which were carrying guests and journalists, da Silva spokesman Jose Crispiniano said.

Da Silva has been traveling around southern Brazil to rally support for another presidential run in October. But the former president has been convicted of corruption, and it looks increasingly likely that he will be jailed and barred from contesting the election.

In a sign of how divisive the once spectacularly popular leader has become, his caravan has been the target of protests at several sites along the tour.

"If they think that that they can do away with my will to fight, they are wrong," da Silva said at a rally Tuesday night. "The day I cannot shout anymore, I will shout through your throats! The day my mind stops thinking, I will think through your minds!"

Initial reports of the incident while the caravan was traveling from Quedas do Iguacu to Laranjeiras do Sul in Parana state were slightly contradictory.

The left-leaning Workers' Party said in a statement that one bus had two bullet holes in its side, while the other bus was grazed on a side window. A statement on da Silva's website said there were at least three shots.

Meanwhile, police officer Helder Lauria said passengers reported hearing a single gunshot while the buses were on the road and then found one "perforation" in each bus once they arrived in Laranjeiras do Sul. Police were still investigating Tuesday night, including taking statements from the people who were on the buses.

Associated Press journalists saw two marks that could have been from bullets, one in each bus.

Gleisi Hoffmann, the Workers' Party president, complained in a statement that authorities haven't provided enough security for the caravan and later called the attack an attempted homicide. Officials noted that Parana state is the only one the caravan has passed through that hasn't provided a police escort.

"It's not normal in a democracy that people fire on a democratic caravan," Hoffmann told supporters Tuesday night.

Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann called the attack unacceptable and said he would ensure that state authorities pay close attention to the investigation.</s>The campaign convoy of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was hit by gunfire on Tuesday night in the latest escalation of increasingly fraught political tensions in Brazil.

The attack took place in the state of Paraná on the latest leg of a campaign tour by Lula through southern states during which he has been confronted by political opponents throwing rocks and eggs and attempting to block his route.

A photograph posted by the Workers’ Party showed a bullet hole in one of the caravan’s buses with party activists saying a second vehicle was also hit. Lula was not with the convoy at the time and no one was injured.

Police have confirmed at least one bullet was fired.

In comments after the incident Lula said the violence against his campaign unleashed by right-wing opponents during the last week reminded him of the emergence of Nazism. Leaders across Brazil’s political spectrum denounced Tuesday’s attack. President Michel Temer said it would create “a climate of instability” in the country when what was needed was a period of calm.

The attack on Lula’s caravan came less than two weeks after the murder of Marielle Franco, a socialist member of Rio de Janeiro’s city council along with her driver. That crime remains unsolved.

It also came amid mounting political tensions ahead of next week’s expected ruling by Brazil’s supreme court on the former president’s petition for habeas corpus. If it denies Lula’s request he faces imminent detention after an appeals court earlier this week confirmed its own decision to sentence him to 12 years in prison for corruption.

Supporters and opponents of the former president have vowed to rally before the supreme court building in Brasília next week, raising the prospect of more clashes. Both sides have been using increasingly inflamed language as a final decision on Lula’s fate looms.

He denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a political conspiracy designed to keep him from contesting October’s presidential election. He has spent recent months on the campaign trail even though, according to Brazil’s electoral law, he is barred from running following the failure of his appeal against his conviction in a kickback case involving a beachfront apartment.

Separately on Tuesday, supreme court justice Edson Fachin, who oversees the giant corruption investigation known as Car Wash, said he had received threats against the safety of members of his family. He did not say who he believed is behind these. Justice Fachin oversees cases in which members of Brazil’s political and business elite are being investigated in corruption scandals involving tens of billions of euro.

Relations between the 11 members of the court have become increasingly fraught in recent weeks as some of its members push to reverse a ruling made just 18 months ago that means those whose convictions have been upheld on appeal start serving their sentences immediately.</s>Brasilia: At least two buses in the election campaign convoy of former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were hit by gunfire on Tuesday, local time, according to his Worker's Party (PT).

The Secretariat of Public Security of Parana said in a statement that it was investigating the incident and that Lula was not on the bus at the time of the attack.

In the attack in Laranjeiras do Sul, in the southern state of Parana where highly charged corruption legal cases are being heard, a bullet left a hole in a bus with a second hitting the glass of another vehicle. Nails had also been placed along the convoy's route, piercing the tires of one bus, the PT said. No one was injured.

Lula was president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and is seeking a third term in October elections, despite a corruption conviction that bars him for running for office. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and pledged to fight the charges.</s>SÃO PAULO—Buses carrying supporters of former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were hit by gunfire late Tuesday, his Workers’ Party said, ahead of a court ruling on whether to send the leftist icon to jail for corruption. No one was hurt.

The Workers’ Party said two buses were hit in the southern state of Paraná where Mr. da Silva has been rallying support for his presidential campaign. The Workers’ Party posted a photo on its website of one of its buses perforated by a bullet hole. Local police officials didn’t...</s>BRASILIA – At least two buses in the election campaign caravan of former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were hit by gunfire on Tuesday, according to his Worker’s Party (PT).

The Secretariat of Public Security of Parana said in a statement that it was investigating the incident and that Lula was not on the bus at the time of the attack.

In the attack in the southern state of Parana, a bullet left a hole in the body of a bus with a second hitting the glass of another vehicle. Nails had also been placed along the caravan’s route, piercing the tires of one bus, the PT said. No one was injured.

Lula was president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and is seeking a third term in October elections, despite a corruption conviction that bars him for running for office. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and pledged to fight the charges.

“What I’m seeing now is almost the rise of Nazism. What we are seeing is not political, because if they wanted to defeat the PT, they would go to the polls,” Lula said, according to the PT statement.

“If they think doing this will scare us, they’re wrong. It will motivate us.”

His buses have already been pelted with eggs and stones along the campaign trail.</s>Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has proven to be a controversial figure. — Reuters picBRASILIA, March 28 — Gunshots fired at the bus convoy of fiery leftist former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plunged Brazil’s already turbulent presidential election into dangerous new territory today.

Lula, who is fighting in the courts to avoid starting a 12-year prison sentence for corruption, was due to wind up a campaign tour through southern Brazil with a rally in the city of Curitiba.

The 10-day trip had been previously targeted by opponents throwing stones and eggs at the buses and at the two-term former president, who despite his legal problems leads polls ahead of the October 7 election.

But the gunshots late Tuesday ramped up tension in what’s already shaping up to be the most volatile leadership contest since Brazil’s military dictatorship ended in 1985.

Lula and his Workers’ Party said the shots were fired in an apparent ambush, with two bullets hitting one bus, one bullet hitting another, and the third bus, where Lula was traveling, escaping unscathed. No one was hurt.

Gleisi Hoffmann, leader of the Workers’ Party, which Lula founded, said the incident should be investigated as a possible assassination attempt.

“We hope we will have security, that the national and state police, as well as the intelligence services, do their jobs so that we can rally in a peaceful and democratic way,” she told AFP.

Illustrating the ugly pre-election atmosphere, center-right candidate and Sao Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin reacted to the violence by saying that the leftists were “reaping what they sowed,” Folha newspaper reported.

Today, Alckmin rowed back, tweeting that “all forms of violence must be condemned.... The country is tired of division and calls to conflict.”

There was clearer condemnation of the incident from the economy minister and possible center-right presidential candidate Henrique Meirelles. He tweeted: “What happened yesterday... was an attack on freedom of expression of a political leader and was inadmissible in a democracy.”

However, there was still no reaction from Lula’s closest rival in the polls, the right-wing former army captain Jair Bolsonaro, who was also due to greet supporters in Curitiba on Wednesday.

Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly praised Brazil’s two-decade-long military dictatorship, taunted Lula, calling him a “bandit,” and challenging him in Curitiba to see “who can get the most people out on to the streets without paying them.”

Another right-wing group, the Movement for a Free Brazil, was planning its own anti-Lula rally in the city, just a short distance from where Lula and his Workers’ Party faithful were due to gather.

The red-shirted Lula is no stranger to political drama, but even by his standards these are tempestuous times.

When Lula left office at the start of 2011, he was Brazil’s most popular president on record, having presided over a commodities-fueled economic boom and won plaudits for his social policies.

However, he also has high rejection ratings and is blamed by the right and many in the center for Brazil’s slide into the mammoth “Car Wash” corruption scandal that has shaken the country over the last four years.

Although dozens of other top politicians, including current center-right President Michel Temer, have also been charged or convicted, right-wing opponents see Lula as the graft scandal’s biggest culprit. On the left, Lula is seen as the victim of politicized judges.

On Monday, a court rejected Lula’s latest appeal against a conviction that he took a luxury apartment as a bribe.

That leaves him depending on a Supreme Court decision expected on April 4 if he is to avoid being ordered to start his 12-year prison sentence, let alone run for president.

Even then, he faces another six corruption cases.

Despite the daunting legal situation, Lula is a runaway favorite in opinion polls, with around 35 percent of voter intentions, followed by Bolsonaro with around 17 percent.

A veteran right-wing congressman, Bolsonaro is running as an anti-politician, often taking a leaf out of US President Donald Trump’s book.

He has praised torture under Brazil’s military dictatorship, insulted gays and even told a fellow politician she wasn’t “worth raping.” The more extreme Bolsonaro gets, the more it seems he thrills his supporters. — AFP</s>Brazil's jittery presidential campaign entered disturbing new territory Wednesday after scandal-plagued leftist frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's bus convoy was shot at and his main rival branded him a "scoundrel."

Lula, who is fighting in the courts to avoid starting a 12-year prison sentence for corruption, was due to address a rally in Curitiba at the culmination of a campaign bus tour through southern Brazil.

The 10-day trip had been previously targeted by opponents throwing stones and eggs at the two-term former president, who despite his legal problems leads polls ahead of the October 7 election.

But the shooting incident late Tuesday sharply ramped up tension in the most turbulent leadership contest since Brazil's military dictatorship ended in 1985.

Lula and his Workers' Party said the shots were fired in an apparent ambush, with two bullets hitting one bus, one bullet hitting another, and the third bus, where Lula was traveling, escaping unscathed. No one was hurt.

Gleisi Hoffmann, leader of the Workers' Party, which Lula founded, said the incident should be investigated as a possible assassination attempt.

Center-right President Michel Temer expressed "regret" Wednesday and said "we need to reunite Brazilians. We need to pacify the country. This wave of violence, this climate of 'us against them,' cannot continue."

However, Lula's chief rival, right-wing former army captain Jair Bolsonaro, arrived in Curitiba for his own rally early Wednesday with a more combative message.

He called Lula "a scoundrel" and said "we can't accept elections without Lula being locked up."

Not mentioning the shooting incident, Bolsonaro instead repeated his campaign promise of loosening gun laws to arm citizens against criminals.

"I want a ... police that shoots to kill," he told several hundred cheering supporters outside Curitiba's airport, where he flew in before driving off to another campaign stop.

When Lula left office at the start of 2011, he was Brazil's most popular president on record, having presided over a commodities-fueled economic boom and winning plaudits for his social policies.

However, he also inspires passionate opposition and is blamed by the right and many in the center for Brazil's slide into the mammoth "Car Wash" corruption scandal that has shaken the country over the last four years.

Although dozens of other top politicians, including Temer, have also been charged or convicted, right-wing opponents see Lula as the graft scandal's biggest culprit. On the left, Lula is seen as the victim of politicized judges.

Illustrating the ugly pre-election atmosphere, center-right presidential candidate and Sao Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin initially reacted to reports of shots fired against Lula's buses by saying the leftists were "reaping what they sowed," Folha newspaper reported.

On Wednesday, Alckmin rowed back, tweeting that "all forms of violence must be condemned ... The country is tired of division and calls to conflict."

There was clearer condemnation of the incident from the economy minister and possible center-right presidential candidate Henrique Meirelles. He tweeted: "What happened yesterday ... was an attack on freedom of expression of a political leader and was inadmissible in a democracy."

Lula's biggest challenge right now is avoiding jail. On Monday, a court rejected his latest appeal against a 12-year-and-one-month prison sentence for taking a luxury apartment as a bribe.

That leaves him depending on a Supreme Court decision expected on April 4 if he is to remain free, let alone be allowed on the presidential ballot. Even then, he faces another six corruption cases.

Despite the daunting legal situation, Lula is a runaway favorite in opinion polls, with around 35 percent of voter intentions, followed by Bolsonaro with around 17 percent.

A veteran right-wing congressman, Bolsonaro is running as an anti-politician, often taking a leaf out of US President Donald Trump's book.

He has praised torture under Brazil's military dictatorship, insulted gays and even told a fellow politician she wasn't "worth raping." The more extreme Bolsonaro gets, the more it seems he thrills his supporters.
Officials with former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva say shots were fired at two of his reelection campaign buses.