Son campaigns to free father jailed over coup conviction
Brazil votes Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that Tom Phillips, The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, describes as historic, with Flávio Bolsonaro — son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro — carrying what the podcast calls genuine hopes of victory.
The episode, released Friday, opens by recalling how complete the end of Jair Bolsonaro’s political career once appeared. “You would have been forgiven for thinking that when Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in September 2025 of attempting a coup, his political career was finished and his legacy forever tainted,” it notes.
Instead, “in the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections this Sunday, another Bolsonaro has genuine hopes of victory — not Jair, but his son Flávio,” the episode reports.
Flávio Bolsonaro is also campaigning to have his father released, according to the episode. Phillips, reporting with presenter Annie Kelly, explains how Brazil got here again and tells Kelly what it would mean for the wider region if Flávio Bolsonaro wins.
The episode is titled “The Bolsonaros…they’re back!” and is part of The Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast. It was presented by Annie Kelly with Tom Phillips, produced by Guy Szafman and Brian McNamara, with Sami Kent and Homa Khaleeli as executive producers. It is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, via RSS feed, and as a download.