Brazils ex-president Lula, who is imprisoned for corruption, on Tuesday gave his Workers Party (PT) the green light to find a new candidate for the October presidential election in which he remains the frontrunner.
"I want you to feel totally free to take whatever decision you need because 2018 is an important year for the PT, for the left and for democracy," wrote Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in a letter to the party leadership.