Lula, Bolsonaro officially enter campaign season as they court voters

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a rally as he starts his campaign as a presidential candidate in the national elections, at a car factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Carla Carniel

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his leftist front-running challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva formally launched their campaigns on Tuesday for Brazil's most polarized elections in decades in October.

The race pits a nationalist populist with an agenda backed by Christian conservatives against a former union leader and two-term president of the country (2003-2010) who was jailed for corruption until his convictions were annulled.