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Sao PAULO BRAZIL'S former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday that voters would decide his fate, shrugging off his graft conviction and insisting he was still in the presidential race. It was Lula's second public speech after an anti-corruption judge handed him a nine-and-a-half year sentence on Wednesday, finding the icon of Latin America's left guilty of taking bribes and money-laundering. Lula vowed that"as long as (prosecutors and judges) have not proven anything against me, I'm going to be criss-crossing the country for you."Lula, who has been leading in voter intention polls, portrayed the verdict as an attempt to prevent him from being a candidate in the October 2018 elections."They are having me tried for political reasons,"Lula reiterated Saturday, with supporters chanting"Lula: Warrior of the Brazilian people!"(AFP)
