"I will always appoint people according to the interests of Brazilian society," says Lula

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended on Thursday night the discussion of amendments with federal deputies but added that there "cannot" be a secret budget.

"You can discuss amendments that are made publicly, with society knowing where that resource will be allocated, which project that resource will be directed to. There is no problem in doing that. What is serious is when you convey the idea that it is secret. Then you create the thesis of suspicion, and it is never good to live under suspicion," said Lula in an interview with Record TV.

The so-called secret budget was a mechanism created during the government of Jair Bolsonaro for the distribution of resources based on the indication of parliamentarians without clarity about where the money was actually being allocated. In December of last year, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) declared the mechanism unconstitutional.

In the current government, the release of amendments has been used by the Planalto as one of the ways to obtain support from deputies in important votes, such as the tax reform.

STF - During the interview, Lula also reaffirmed that he does not appoint friends to the STF. Recently, the president received a series of criticisms for having nominated the lawyer Cristiano Zanin for a position as a minister in the STF, replacing Ricardo Lewandowski. The criticism arose precisely because of Zanin's proximity to Lula - the lawyer defended the president in cases related to the Lava Jato operation.

"I never choose a friend to be a minister of the Supreme Court because he is not there to provide services to me, he is there to provide services to Brazilian society," said Lula.

When specifically asked about Zanin and his proximity to him, Lula replied, "He was not a friend, he was my lawyer. And an extremely capable person."

The president also stated, "I will never need a personal favor from Zanin because I will never do anything wrong."

When questioned about his next nomination for the court, he evaded the question.

"I will always appoint people according to the interests of Brazilian society," he said.

In October, the current president of the Supreme Court, Minister Rosa Weber, will have to retire compulsorily, opening a vacancy in the court.

Lula was also asked about a possible asylum for the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who is currently imprisoned in the United Kingdom and is expected to be extradited to the United States.

Assange is sought by US authorities on 18 charges related to the WikiLeaks' disclosure of vast amounts of classified military documents and diplomatic messages from the United States.

"I don't think it was even possible (to grant asylum) because he is imprisoned in England, and I believe his extradition to the US has already been decided," replied Lula, adding that as a democrat, he is concerned that Assange is imprisoned at a time when there is much talk about press freedom.