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Agence France-Presse

Even though he’s behind bars, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva secured his leftist party’s nomination on Saturday, maintaining him as the most-watched candidate in the country’s least predictable presidential election for decades.
Three big party conventions were underway to nominate heavyweight candidates two months before the first round of voting on October 7 in Latin America’s dominant economy.
Centre-left environmental campaigner Marina Silva was crowned by her Rede party in Brasilia.

Also in the capital, former Sao Paulo governor and establishment heavyweight Geraldo Alckmin secured the nod from the centre-right Brazilian Social Democratic Party, or PSDB.
“Go Brazil, Geraldo for president!” about 1,000 supporters chanted before Alckmin was nominated in an almost unanimous vote.
But while both Silva and Alckmin are serious contenders in a likely match-up against controversial right-winger Jair Bolsonaro, it was Lula’s highly unusual convention in Sao Paulo that overshadowed proceedings.
Lula is in prison in the southern city of Curitiba, serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and is likely to be barred from the ballot.
Brazil’s ex-president Lula still in prison as judge quashes release order
But his Workers’ Party is acting as if it’s business as normal in Lula’s bid for a return to office after his largely popular two terms from 2003-2010.
While he was not able to attend the Sao Paulo convention, the around 2,000 attendees were issued Lula masks and their enthusiasm was undimmed.
“They thought the coup would end with Lula in prison, with the people abandoning Lula, but the opposite has happened,” said Paulo Henrique Barbosa Mateus, a 27-year-old unemployed man at the convention, voicing the faithful’s belief that Lula’s trial was trumped up to prevent him from running.
“We’ve got even stronger. Our role is to reinforce his candidacy and make sure he gets his right to be in the campaign, because he is innocent.”

Supporters have one remarkable factor on their side: despite his imprisonment and the corruption scandal, Lula remains far ahead in the polls.
Surveys show him with near double the support of all other main candidates in a first round, crushing any runner-up in the second decisive round two weeks later.
Lula is waiting for final court judgment on whether he can run and it does not look good: under current law anyone losing an appeal of a criminal conviction is not allowed on the ballot.
How Lula’s jail sentence has sent shock waves through Brazilian elite
So despite the left’s almost cultlike backing, there was close attention being paid to the Workers’ Party choice for vice-president – a figure who could end up standing in for the imprisoned leader.
One high-profile possibility is former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad. A powerful politician, he has signed on to Lula’s legal team, giving him easy access to the prison, and he would be well placed to inherit Lula’s electorate.
But the party appears to be torn over the choice, with some fearful of any move that might suggest giving up on the main goal of somehow getting Lula back into the presidential palace.
Alckmin has already named Senator Ana Amelia, who is expected to help him in the south of the country and eat into conservative support for Bolsonaro.

And if Alckmin has gone for a female VP, Silva has struck a pact with a man, Eduardo Jorge, from Brazil’s Green Party.
Bolsonaro, who has positioned himself as a radical right-winger appealing to Brazilians’ fury over crime and corruption, has yet to find his running mate. Names thrown around in Brazilian media reports have included a former astronaut, a member of the royal family and a general.
Brazil cancels ex-president Lula’s passport, fearing he will flee
The problem facing all candidates is the level of voter disgust and apathy.
Two polls show that 33 or 41 per cent of voters are undecided or not taking part in an election that does not include Lula. If Lula was on the ballot, that number would drop but still account for about a quarter of voters.


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Americas and the Caribbean

Even from behind bars, Brazil’s Lula secures a nomination for president

Popular former president is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and is likely to be barred from the ballot. But he leads all the polls by a wide margin.

Brazilian senator and president of the Workers' Party (PT), Gleisi Hoffmann (R), holds a mask depicting Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, during the national convention of the Workers Party (PT), in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 04, 2018. Brazil's presidential election, starting with a first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades. The leftist Workers' Party that Lula da Silva founded is due to nominate him as its candidate. After that, it will be up to the country's top courts to decide whether he can be on the ballot. / AFP PHOTO / NELSON ALMEIDA

Presidential candidate Marina Silva (L) and her vice-presidential running mate Eduardo Jorge, are pictured during the launching of their candidacies ahead of October's presidential election, during the national convention of the REDE Party, in Brasilia, on on August 04, 2018. Brazil's presidential election, starting with a first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades. The center-leftist Silva, who was environment minister of former president Lula da Silva, made two strong bids for the presidency in 2010 and 2014, so she is hardly unknown. Polls show her close to right-winger Bolsonaro and possibly beating him in a second round runoff. / AFP PHOTO / Sergio LIMA

FILE - In this May 23, 2018 file photo, Geraldo Alckmin, Brazil's presidential hopeful and former Sao Paulo governor, addresses the "In Defense of Muncipalities" Congress in Brasilia, Brazil. Alckmin publicly tried to court as his running-mate Josue Gomes, who apart from being a successful businessman is also the son of former Vice President Jose Alencar, but, Gomes declined for personal reasons. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

A man places masks of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on chairs, before the national convention of the Workers Party, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday. Brazil's presidential election, starting with a first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades. Photo: AFP

Brazil’s ex-president Lula da Silva still in prison after judge quashes shock release order

Supporters of Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva protest outside his prison in Curitiba on Sunday, waving banners calling for his freedom. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 16, 2018 Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures during the launching of the book “A Verdade Vencerá: O Povo Sabe Por Que Me Condenam” (The truth will overcome: The people know why they condemn me) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A Brazilian appeals court on Sunday delivered a surprise ruling ordering the release of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 72, who has been jailed since April for corruption and could now be released within hours. / AFP PHOTO / NELSON ALMEIDA

Supporters of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva protest near the federal police headquarters in Curitiba, Brazil, July 8, 2018. REUTERS/Geraldo Bubniak

‘Nothing is over yet’: Former Brazilian president Lula negotiating terms of his surrender after defying order to begin jail sentence

Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Photo: AP

Supporters of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gather at September Seven square (Praca Sete), in Belo Horizonte, Brazil after Lula ignored a deadline to surrender and start a 12-year prison sentence for corruption on April 6, 2018. Holed up with thousands of cheering supporters in the metalworkers' union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, the 72-year-old let the 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) deadline pass without public comment. / AFP PHOTO / DOUGLAS MAGNO

Lula behind bars: Brazil’s former president taken to prison to serve 12-year sentence for corruption

Brazilian ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives at the Federal Police headquarters where he is due to serve his 12-year prison sentence, in Curitiba. Photo: AFP

Supporters of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are seen behind riot police in front of the Federal Police headquarters, in Curitiba, Brazil, April 7, 2018. REUTERS/Rodolfo Buhrer

Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves from a window of the Metallurgical Union, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on April 07, 2018. Brazil's election frontrunner and controversial leftist icon said Saturday that he will comply with an arrest warrant to start a 12-year sentence for corruption. "I will comply with their warrant," he told a crowd of supporters. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel Schincariol

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walks to enter a Federal Police plane in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 7, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

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Popular former president is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and is likely to be barred from the ballot. But he leads all the polls by a wide margin.


Popular former president is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption but he leads all the polls


Even from behind bars, Brazil’s Lula secures a nomination for president

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Popular former president is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and is likely to be barred from the ballot. But he leads all the polls by a wide margin.

Popular former president is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and is likely to be barred from the ballot. But he leads all the polls by a wide margin.