Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is finally free from prison, and he is beating President Jair Bolsonaro in the polls for this year’s presidential election. But many of the conditions that brought Bolsonaro to power remain. Agribusiness leaders control the economy. Brazil has one of the largest incarcerated populations in the world. The working class still associates politics with corruption.

In a recent interview on The Dig, a Jacobin Radio podcast, host Daniel Denvir spoke with Sabrina Fernandes, an eco-socialist organizer and sociologist, and Andre Pagliarini, an assistant professor of history at Hampden-Sydney College. They discuss how the Brazilian left can confront its past and win this year’s elections. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity, and updated with new developments.