The state of Brazil’s presidential race

With the deadline for party national conventions having passed, 13 presidential candidacies have been launched so far. If the Electoral Justice system confirms every name, this will be the most crowded presidential ballot since 1989 – Brazil’s first fully democratic contest after the military dictatorship.

National conventions are just the first step in the presidential race. Now, parties have until August 15 to go before the Superior Electoral Court and formally register the names to be featured on the ballot come October. The court then has until September 17 to judge all candidacy requests, approving or rejecting their registration.

We list the 13 candidates that will fight (some more competitively than others) for the presidency:

Álvaro Dias (Podemos)

Previously known as the National Labor Party (PTN), the minor center-right party underwent a rebranding effort last year, changing its name to Podemos (We Can). Although often misconstrued as a reference to the anti-establishment left-wing Podemos party in Spain, the name change was in fact a nod to Barack Obama’s famous “Yes We Can” campaign slogan used in 2008.

Podemos has put forward Álvaro Dias for the presidency, a long-time senator who is very popular in his home state of Paraná, where he was last elected with 77 percent of votes. His running mate will be Paulo Rabello de Castro, an economist who recently served as the president of Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES).

Mr. Dias’ coalition includes Mr. Castro’s Social Christian Party, the Progressive Republican Party, and the Christian Labor Party. Mr. Dias’ platform will have an anti-corruption rhetoric, despite the fact his allies in the Northeast include former President Fernando Collor, who was impeached in 1992 after being involved...