Former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched his presidential bid on Saturday, calling on Brazilians to unite behind him to defend Brazil's democracy from the authoritarian government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Without mentioning Bolsonaro by name, Lula told supporters at a rally that his adversary was unable to govern and lied constantly to the nation to hide his incompetence.

"The most serious moment the country is going through forces us to...