Covid ‘denialist’ and Bolsonaro ally Olavo de Carvalho died of virus, says daughter

Rightwing radical was a towering figure in Brazil who was adored and abhorred in equal measure by millions of followers and foes

Olavo de Carvalho, the coronavirus-denying mentor of Jair Bolsonaro and Brazil's radical right, has died in the United States, with one of his children citing Covid-19 as the cause.

The family ... asks for prayers for the professor's soul," relatives said on Twitter after announcing the death of the 74-year-old polemicist - a towering figure in contemporary Brazilian politics who was adored and abhorred in equal measure by millions of followers and foes.