Former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who rose from childhood poverty to become a two-term president, was convicted on corruption charges on Wednesday in the first of five graft trials he faces.<br /><br />He was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. He will remain free on appeal.<br /><br />The ruling marked a stunning fall for Lula, Brazil’s first working-class president who left office six years ago with an 83-percent approval rating. The former union leader won global admiration for transformative social policies that helped reduce stinging inequality in Latin America’s biggest country.<br /><br />Former U.S. President Barack Obama once labeled him the most popular politician on earth.<br />
