A judge in Brazil has blocked the appointment of the country's former president to the cabinet of current president Dilma Rouseff, just hours after his swearing-in.
It marks the lastest move in a deepening political crisis in the country that has led to protests across the land calling for Ms Rouseff to stand down.
When President Rouseff swore in former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as her chief of staff, she was bringing in the man who had handpicked her as his successor.
During the ceremony, she lavished praise on her 70-year-old predecessor's political experience.
"Welcome, dear companion Luiz Inacio, Minister Lula. I count on the experience of Minister Lula. I count on his identity, the identity that he has with this country, with the people of this country. I count on this. Inacio Lula da Silva, chief of staff of the Civil House."
It came after anti- and pro-government protesters had clashed outside the presidential palace.
Police had to use teargas to disperse the crowds in Brasilia.
And demonstrations also took place in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Some protesters are angry that the appointment of Mr da Silva, widely known as Lula, will shield him from prosecutors who have charged him with money-laundering and fraud.
The charges are part of a sweeping corruption investigation centred on the state oil company Petrobras.
The illegal activity is alleged to have taken place during Lula's presidency, from 2003 through 2010.
It is alleged the former president accepted a luxury apartment as a bribe from a company implicated in the Petrobras scandal.
Adding to the controversy is the public release by a judge of this phone conversation between President Rousseff and Lula.
In it, Ms Rousseff can puportedly be heard telling Lula she would be sending him a copy of his appointment urgently and saying "in case it was necessary."
That is being interpreted as a reference to the ministerial post providing him immediate immunity and prohibiting his arrest.
Cabinet ministers can only be tried before the Supreme Court in Brazil.
But Lula's appointment is also seen as a move for Ms Rouseff to strengthen her support against pending impeachment proceedings for unrelated corruption charges.
It is alleged she used state banks to cover budget deficits.
Separately, there are accusations her 2014 re-election campaign was financed with cash from the Petrobras scandal.
Brazilian-based journalist Jan Rocha has told Al Jazeera Ms Rouseff is fighting for her political survival.
"If congress approves the impeachment proceedings, then she's gone. But she's also facing increasing protests in the streets and the beginnings of violence, too, between the different groups -- between those who want her out and those who support her, want her to stay. So she's walking a bit of a tightrope, and bringing Lula into the cabinet was a gamble which could or could not pay off, because a lot of the protests are directed against him."
Shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, a federal judge in Brasilia issued an injunction to suspend Lula's appointment, ruling it prevented what he called "the free exercise of justice."
Ms Rocha says the move is only temporary so far.
"It's an injunction, which means that it still has to be decided in a plenary session of the court. So it could be overthrown. It has a temporary effect on suspending his effective role as a minister, but it could be overthrown in a number of hours. This is what's going on in Brazil at the moment, this sort of game between different levels of justice, the lower courts, the Supreme Court, between the different parties in Congress, so it's extremely difficult, really, at the moment to say what the outcome of all this is going to be."
Rio-based economy professor Ricardo Macedo offers a few possible scenarios for what will happen next.
"There are three possible scenarios. One, the people continue in the streets, calling for the fall of the government, demanding more investigation so that all who are involved in corruption can be set apart and so that this can culminate in new elections. Two, in case nothing changes, there could be a more radical reaction sending the government more toward the left and adopting economic policies that could be contrary to what the market thinks. Three, the possibility exists of giving viability to Dilma's government, which is known for its negotiating manoeuvrability."
