2026-10-23
The Guardian's Today in Focus podcast sent Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips to Roraima, Brazil's most northern state, to hear what's at stake for the rainforest and the communities that live there in Sunday's Brazilian presidential runoff. Phillips found voters, preachers and politicians hopeful that Flávio Bolsonaro, whom the episode calls 'the far-right candidate,' would bring back mining, while Indigenous activists were determined to fight back if the Bolsonaros returned to power.
2026-10-19
More than 1,900 fire hotspots have been recorded across Brazil's Amazon biome so far in October, including 1,679 in Amazonas state during the first two weeks of the month alone. Dense smoke forced authorities in Manaus to suspend classes and in-person work on Monday as air quality reached an AQI of 153, classified as unhealthy. Brazil's federal government is investigating whether the fires were deliberately set as a coordinated effort linked to political motives ahead of the country's presidential runoff.
2026-10-02
Brazil holds the first round of presidential elections Sunday with Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, carrying genuine hopes of victory, according to Tom Phillips, The Guardian's Latin America correspondent. Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in September 2025 of attempting a coup, and Flávio Bolsonaro is also campaigning to have his father released.