Foreshadowing possible clashes in the weeks to come It marks a stunning fall from grace CURITIBA, BRAZIL: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former Brazilian president, has spent his first night in jail. It marks a stunning fall from grace for a man who rose from nothing to lead Latin America’s largest nation, only to become engulfed in corruption allegations. Foreshadowing possible clashes in the weeks to come, police fired rubber bullets and sprayed tear gas at supporters waiting for da Silva late on Saturday as he landed in a police helicopter in the southern city of Curitiba, where he will serve his 12-year sentence for money laundering and corruption. Just a few hours earlier, da Silva’s guards had to force their way out of a metal-workers union in a Sao Paulo suburb so he could turn himself in to police. AP as his supporters tried to prevent from going into custody.