lula
Brazil’s former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spain’s former Prime Minister Felipe González attend a seminar entitled “New Ways of Democracy” in São Paulo, June 22, 2015. Reuters/Paulo Whitaker

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will appoint her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as chief of staff, a leader in Congress said Wednesday, in a move that offers him some protection from a corruption probe as he helps to steer her through a political crisis.

The leader of the government in the lower house of Congress, José Guimarães of the ruling Workers’ Party, said on Twitter that Lula would become Rousseff’s top aide.

Brazil’s currency extended its decline against the dollar on news of the return of the former leftist president to the presidential palace to help Rousseff fend off impeachment.

Separately, a senior source within the government’s economic team said on Wednesday that Brazil’s central bank chief, Alexandre Tombini, may step down if the return of former President Lula to the Cabinet brings major economic policy changes.

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