Rage Mounts as Corruption Investigation Widens in Brazil

A recording of former President Luiz Lula da Silva speaking with sitting President Dilma Rousseff has sent tens of thousands of protestors into the streets of Brazil once again.

In the recordings, Rousseff, who unexpectedly appointed da Silva as her chief of staff this week, tells him that she is sending him over his ministerial papers "in case of necessity." That's being interpreted by officials as a suggestion that the papers would protect him from possible arrest amidst the state's ongoing corruption investigation into to a bribery scandal at the state-run oil firm Petrobas.

Da Silva was indicted earlier this month, and dozens of sitting politicians are accused of soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks from Petrobras executives.

President Rousseff, who was chairwoman of the Petrobras board when the wrongdoing occurred, has denied knowledge of it. Da Silva is also defending himself from investigations into the vast wealth he has accumulated since leaving office in 2010.

Here to explain the politics at play is Bruce Douglas, Brazil correspondent for Latin American Newsletters who is on the ground in Brasilla.