The recent jailing of former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ended a dramatic two-week standoff with authorities as he turned himself in to face a 12-year jail sentence on corruption charges. The move put a spotlight on the political drama roiling Latin America as political leaders have been swept out of office by corruption charges.
Lula’s jailing stems from a corruption probe of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht Engenharia e Construçao, S.A. The probe, nicknamed Operation Car Wash, engulfed giant state-owned firms such as Petrobras and politicians where Odebrecht has done business.











