How Lula’s trial will affect Brazil’s politics and penal system

Over the past decade, Brazil has created mechanisms that attempt to improve the quality of our political ecosystem and curb impunity. Tomorrow, as the Supreme Court prepares to judge whether or not former president Lula da Silva should begin serving his 12-year prison sentence (Lula was convicted for corruption and money laundering), two of these mechanisms will also be on trial.

One of these is the so-called “Clean Record Law,” which comes from a bill presented by social groups and backed by a petition featuring over one million signatures. The law declares that politicians with convictions in an appellate cannot run for office. Prior to this law, candidates maintained their eligibility thanks to many legal loopholes.

Which brings us to the second legal issue that will be affected by Lula’s trial: arrests after a conviction in an appellate court.

Back in October 2016, the Supreme Court decided that people who...