The Brazilian government's leader in the lower house of Congress said today that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been named chief of staff to current President Dilma Rousseff.
It's a move that could help Silva avoid possible detention in expanding corruption probes that have now touched the top of Brazil's political leadership.
Dep. Jose Guimaraes posted on Twitter that Silva is the new No. 2 in Rousseff's Cabinet.
President Dilma Rousseff met with Silva for more than four hours late yesterday and again today in the capital, Brasilia.
Top Brazilian newspapers and the official Agencia Brasil news agency said the talks were focused on a possible Cabinet post.
Rumors of Silva's possible appointment surfaced after the former leader was taken to a police station this month to answer questions connected to the probe, which centers on the state oil company Petrobras.
A Cabinet post would make it harder for prosecutors to investigate Silva because only Brazil's Supreme Court can authorize the investigation, imprisonment and trial of Cabinet members and legislators.
Silva was wildly popular when he left office in 2010, but his support has slipped along with Brazil's economy and as the corruption probe has implicated numerous members of his Workers Party.
Rousseff and Silva until recently had been untouched by the turmoil, but the Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted a plea bargain by the party's former leader in the Senate, Delcidio do Amaral, that alleged Rousseff at least knew about wrongdoing at Petrobras, which she formerly oversaw.
The scandal also has ensnared many opposition figures, including house Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who has been pushing to impeach Rousseff in an unrelated case centered on allegations of fiscal mismanagement.
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Cunha's wife and daughter be tried by a judge who is handling the Petrobras investigation. Investigators allege the two benefited from illegal funds from Petrobras contracts.
