Air force chief who refused Bolsonaro coup warns history must not repeat

A former Brazilian air force chief, Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, recounts in a forthcoming book how Bolsonaro tried to use the military to overturn Lula’s 2022 election with a draft decree; two of the three service heads refused to back the plan, helping derail the coup, and several officers—including the navy commander and defence minister—were later convicted while Bolsonaro remains under house arrest. Baptista Júnior says his decision cost him friendships and he hopes the book prevents a repeat as Brazil heads into another election.