In Brazil, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vowed Thursday to challenge his conviction on corruption charges, saying he would run for president in 2018. Lula was speaking in São Paulo to his supporters in Brazil’s Workers’ Party.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “If anyone thinks that this sentence has taken me out of the game, they should know that I’m in the game. They can know that now—I want to tell you, I want to tell my party something that hasn’t been claimed up until now, but I am going to call on the Workers’ Party for the right to make myself a candidate for president in 2018.”

Prosecutors allege a construction firm spent about $1.1 million refurbishing a beachside apartment for Lula and his wife in exchange for public contracts. Lula has called the case against him a “witch hunt” aimed at preventing him from returning to the presidency.