Brazil’s presidential candidates at a glance

Brazil's presidential election, which opens with the first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades, reports AFP from Rio De Janeiro.

With former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ruled out over a corruption conviction and the widely unpopular incumbent Michel Temer avoiding the embarrassment of what would surely be a humiliating bid for re-election, a new breed of lesser-known politicians are taking their chances.

Here's what you need to know about the biggest names in the race:

Bolsonaro: Tough-talking ex-military man

Former army captain Jair Bolsonaro, 63, is often called Brazil's Donald Trump. He not only gets away with saying the outrageous but uses the attention to bolster his claim of being an outsider combatting the corrupt, incompetent elite. Among his regular targets are gays, women and torture victims under the 1964-85 military dictatorship. Despite the fresh image, boosted by enthusiastic use of social media, Bolsonaro is actually a long-serving member of Congress.

Haddad: Lula's replacement -

It's been barely three weeks since Fernando Haddad, 55, was picked to replace Lula as the leftist Workers' Party (PT) candidate, although it had been in the pipeline for months. His first difficulty was to build a profile once the all-enveloping shadow of Lula was lifted. Despite previously having held the post of mayor of Sao Paulo, he was a virtual unknown outside Brazil's biggest city. The son of a Lebanese immigrant, he's a political science professor at Sao Paulo University and during Lula's government worked as Minister for Education. He's surged into second place in the polls since Lula was dropped from the ballot, boosted by a transfer of PT loyalists switching their allegiance to him.

But like the jailed icon Lula and his hand-picked successor as president, Dilma Rousseff, Haddad has faced corruption accusations linked to his campaign during municipal elections in 2012. And if there's one thing Brazilians are fed up with, it's corruption.

Gomes: Fiery leftist

Some saw Ciro Gomes, who has also made two failed presidential attempts in the past, as someone capable of capturing the country's huge leftist vote in the place of the imprisoned Lula. Gomes, 60, is running with the Democratic Labor Party but has failed to garner coalition support from other leftist parties, leaving him isolated.

Alckmin: 'Not a showman'

In a country exhausted by scandal and economic disarray, former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, 65, bills himself as the adult in the room. "I am not a showman," he says proudly. From the big centrist Brazilian Social Democratic Party, or PSDB, Alckmin is hardly the outsider that pollsters believe Brazilians are looking for in this election.

Marina Silva: The survivor -

She's black, once worked as a maid and has never been charged with corruption: meet Marina Silva, one of Brazil's least typical politicians. Silva, 60, overcame a harsh childhood in the Amazon to become a courageous environmental campaigner, before bursting into the heavily male-dominated world of national politics and serving as environment minister under Lula.

 

Brazils presidential candidates at a glance

Brazils presidential election, which opens with the first round on October 7, is seen as the most unpredictable in decades, reports AFP from Rio De Janeiro. With former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ruled out over a corruption conviction and the widely unpopular incumbent Michel Temer avoiding the embarrassment of what would surely be a humiliating bid for re-election, a new breed of lesser-known politicians are taking their chances. Heres what you need to know about the biggest names in the race: Bolsonaro: Tough-talking ex-military man Former army captain Jair Bolsonaro, 63, is often called Brazils Donald Trump. He not only gets away with saying the outrageous but uses the attention to bolster his claim of being an outsider combatting the corrupt, incompetent elite. Among his regular targets are gays, women and torture victims under the 1964-85 military dictatorship. Despite the fresh image, boosted by enthusiastic use of social media, Bolsonaro is actually a long-serving member of Congress. Haddad: Lulas replacement - Its been barely three weeks since Fernando Haddad, 55, was picked to replace Lula as the leftist Workers Party (PT) candidate, although it had been in the pipeline for months. His first difficulty was to build a profile once the all-enveloping shadow of Lula was lifted. Despite previously having held the post of mayor of Sao Paulo, he was a virtual unknown outside Brazils biggest city. The son of a Lebanese immigrant, hes a political science professor at Sao Paulo University and during Lulas government worked as Minister for Education. Hes surged into second place in the polls since Lula was dropped from the ballot, boosted by a transfer of PT loyalists switching their allegiance to him. But like the jailed icon Lula and his hand-picked successor as president, Dilma Rousseff, Haddad has faced corruption accusations linked to his campaign during municipal elections in 2012. And if theres one thing Brazilians are fed up with, its corruption. Gomes: Fiery leftist Some saw Ciro Gomes, who has also made two failed presidential attempts in the past, as someone capable of capturing the countrys huge leftist vote in the place of the imprisoned Lula. Gomes, 60, is running with the Democratic Labor Party but has failed to garner coalition support from other leftist parties, leaving him isolated. Alckmin: Not a showman In a country exhausted by scandal and economic disarray, former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, 65, bills himself as the adult in the room. I am not a showman, he says proudly. From the big centrist Brazilian Social Democratic Party, or PSDB, Alckmin is hardly the outsider that pollsters believe Brazilians are looking for in this election. Marina Silva: The survivor - Shes black, once worked as a maid and has never been charged with corruption: meet Marina Silva, one of Brazils least typical politicians. Silva, 60, overcame a harsh childhood in the Amazon to become a courageous environmental campaigner, before bursting into the heavily male-dominated world of national politics and serving as environment minister under Lula.