RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Xinhua) – Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday evening appeared at a political rally in Sao Paulo, expressing defiance to his detention in a corruption probe.

“If they want to fight me, they will have to face me in the streets. They think they can silence me with persecution and denouncements, but they do not know I survived hunger,” Lula told a large crowd of supporters at Sao Paulo’s bank workers’ union.

“I am not vengeful and I carry no hate, but I am aware of what I can do for this nation and what they want from me. If they need someone to raise the troops’ morale, here I am,” he added, reaffirming his willingness to travel across the country and continue his politics.

The former president recalled achievements of his Administration, such as the increase of black students in universities and the poor’s average income, both through the social welfare programme Bolsa Familia and increases in the minimum wage.

Lula said he faced a lot of prejudice for his humble origins, but stressed that his successor, Dilma Rousseff, faces even more prejudice for being a woman. Rousseff was the first female president in Brazil.

Early in the morning, the 70-year-old former president was detained and taken to a Federal Police station to testify on a case of corruption. Police officers searched Lula’s residence in Sao Paulo and the Lula Institute, an organisation founded after the former president left office.

Speaking at a press conference after being interrogated by federal investigators for three hours at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport on Friday, Lula said he felt “offended” but the support he had received inspired him to “keep fighting”.

“I felt like a prisoner this morning. I have been through a lot in my life. I am not the type of man to bear a grudge, but our country can continue like this,” said a defiant Lula.

The former president told the press that he had previously voluntarily testified to investigators and that he would have been happy to appear again at their request.

He also accused the investigations by the federal prosecutor of being infiltrated by the media. “While lawyers know nothing, certain media already know things. It is shameful that a piece of the Brazilian justice system is working in association with the press,” Lula noted.

Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2010, is often regarded as one of the most popular politicians in the history of Brazil. He remains as one of Brazil’s most influential political figures after leaving office.