Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's face was everywhere at the Workers' Party national convention: T-shirts featured him as a young metalworker, posters showed him as a seasoned politician wading through crowds and hundreds of supporters donned cardboard “Lula” masks.
Only Lula himself, as Mr. da Silva is popularly known, was missing from the kickoff of his presidential candidacy on Saturday.
“I am Lula!” the crowds shouted as they nominated Mr. da Silva with a show of hands.
The two-time president, who left office in 2011 with a record-high approval rating, now sits in a jail cell serving a 12-year sentence for corruption. The Supreme Electoral Court is widely expected to bar him from running for a third term in the October election.
But the charismatic leader could still be the deciding factor in this year's splintered race.
The Workers' Party insists Lula is the only name they will put on the ballot. Their aim is to generate enough popular support to force the courts to set him free and allow him to campaign. The party even delayed announcing a running mate until a day after the convention, keeping the spotlight on Mr. da Silva.
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