Brazil Institute Podcast

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks about upcoming municipal elections in Brazil with Thiago Vidal, Director of Political Analysis at Prospectiva Public Affairs Lat.Am. With 5,570 municipalities and over 156 million voters deciding on new mayors and city council members, the results are critical and often overlooked from an international perspective. Bruna explores with Thiago how these elections will serve as a test for Lula’s administration and, facing the current polarization, the perspectives for the next presidential race in 2026.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks with Jennifer Prescott about the evolving tech landscape in Brazil. Jennifer highlights the economic impact of cloud computing and AI, collaborations with the Brazilian government on AI regulation, and the country's growing AI ecosystem. They also discuss efforts in digital training and how global best practices can help shape Brazil's regulatory framework.

In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to Venezuelan journalist Paula Ramón for an insider's view on Venezuela's elections, the impact of Chavismo on citizens, and Lula's controversial stance.

In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to Leticia Phillips, founder and managing partner of the Ridge Road Group, about Brazil-US cooperation for energy transition.

In this episode, host Lina Doherty discusses the historic climate crisis in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with guests Natalie Unterstell and Anabel Teixeira. They explore the local government’s response, the vital role of civil society, and the imperative for sustainable reconstruction.

In this episode, Bruna Santos and Oscar Vilhena, law professor and Wilson Center global fellow, reflect on Brazil one year after its momentous 2022 election bringing Lula back into power. They analyze early challenges confronting Lula’s administration, from political turmoil to polarization, while discussing the road ahead for institutional stability. 

In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to labor lawyer Stanley Gacek about the new Partnership for Workers’ Rights between the US and Brazil. Announced at the 2022 UN General Assembly, the accord aims to promote higher standards and strengthen protections for workers in key sectors of both countries. Gacek provides an insider’s look at the partnership’s origins, goals, and potential impact on empowering unions and improving labor conditions in the US and Brazil.

In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos talks with Vanessa Canado, director of the Tax Research Center at Brazil’s Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa,about Brazil’s bold tax reform proposal, the state of Congressional negotiations, and its potential impact on businesses, consumers, and economic growth. Notably, Canado drafted the constitutional amendment bill that inspired the proposal soon to be deliberated in the Senate.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with Raoni Rajão. As a professor at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, member of the cabinet of Brazil’s Minister of Environment, and a former Brazil Institute Fellow, Rajão sheds light on the profound impacts of misinformation in science, specifically relating to the environment and climate change.

In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute podcast, Talita Fernandes speaks with RadicalxChange’s Paula Berman and Agência Pública’s Natália Viana about how social media regulation and technology usage are at the center of the debate after the January riots in Brasilia.

In this episode, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with David Nemer, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia’s department of media studies, and Natasha Felizi, director of Brazil’s Instituto Serrapilheira, about how the spread of fake news is poisoning Brazilian democracy.

The Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute podcast is launching a new series of 5 episodes on the future of Brazilian democracy. In this episode, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with Natalia Viana, director and founding member of Agência Pública, about the future of Brazilian democracy and the democratic challenges President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is already facing. This series is part of the project Brazil 100, which will present the major challenges and actions during the first 100 days of the new government.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Alex Nascimento, best-selling author and professor of blockchain business applications and security tokens at the University of California, Los Angeles. They discuss the current crypto landscape in Brazil, the drive toward crypto regulation in Brazil and the world, and the regulatory framework for crypto assets recently approved by the Brazilian Congress.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Liliana Ayalde and Universidade de São Paulo Professor Maria Herminia Tavares de Almeida, about the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s next president, the future of U.S.-Brazil relations under Lula, and the implications for environmental, security, and economic policy in Brazil.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Clara Becker, a journalist and cofounder of Redes Cordiais, a media literacy non-profit designed to counter disinformation and hate speech on social media. They discuss how misinformation is affecting Brazil’s electoral process and potential strategies to fight fake news in the public sphere.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Felipe Nunes, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the CEO of the polling firm Quaest, about the upcoming general election in Brazil, where former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro will face off at the ballot box, the scientific methods and the growing distrust in election polls, and the potential for political violence on election day.

In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with Richard Back, head of political analysis and strategy for XP Investimentos and a former advisor to the president of the lower Brazilian congressional chamber, about how the Congress is evolving, what to watch for in the upcoming legislative elections this October, and how the composition of the next Brazilian Congress will shape the political and policy environment in the country in 2023.

In this latest episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with Natalie Unterstell, President of the Talanoa policy think tank, member of the UN Green Climate Fund’s accreditation panel, and former Brazilian negotiator at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change about the state of play in the Brazilian Amazon and how the outcome of Brazil’s presidential election in October will impact environmental policy moving forward.

In this special presentation of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with reporter at large and Columnist at Folha de São Paulo Patrícia Campos Mello, CEO and Founder of IDEIA Big Data Maurício Moura, and Partner at JOTA digital media startup Fernando Mello, about Brazil’s upcoming presidential election, how the results may unfold come October, and what are some of the policy implications the result might entail.

In less than one month, Brazil is holding one of the largest 5G auctions to date, globally. Over the last year, the question of whether Brazil would allow Chinese companies, including Huawei to participate in the country’s 5G telecoms infrastructure has dominated coverage of the issue and speaks to some of the unease surrounding China’s investment in Brazil, and in Latin America more broadly. But China is Brazil’s largest trade partner and a critical source of foreign investment in commodities, energy, infrastructure, and yes—telecomms. For Brazil, a country in need of investment and economic growth, China is an important economic partner. On this episode, guest Cláudia Trevisan, Executive Director of the Brazil-China Business Council, joins host Anya Prusa to discuss the contours of the Brazil-China relationship.

The Brazilian Amazon has entered the dry season, a period that, in recent years, has seen thousands of forest fires break out across the region. This year, a severe drought in much of Brazil—the worst in decades—has many worried that the fires could hit a new record. On this episode, guest Jake Spring, Reuter’s Environment and Commodities Correspondent in Brasilia, joins host Anya Prusa to discuss the latest deforestation numbers, the government’s response, and the implications of climate change for Brazil.

On May 6th, a police operation targeting gang members in Jacarezinho, in Rio de Janeiro, left 28 dead. It was the bloodiest police raid in the city’s history. But police violence is common in Rio’s favelas, with residents—often disproportionately Black and pardo—caught up in conflict between drug traffickers, paramilitary gangs, and the police. On this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Anya Prusa speaks with Ilona Szabó, the co-founder and president of the Igarapé Institute, and a recognized expert on questions of public security, crime, and violence in Brazil.

Fifty percent of entrepreneurs in Brazil are women—but they face an uphill battle to keep their businesses open. Renata Malheiros Henriques, the National Coordinator for Women Entrepreneurship Projects at the Brazilian small business association Sebrae, wants to change this. Under Renata’s leadership, Sebrae launched a country-wide project called Sebrae Delas to support female entrepreneurship and encourage innovation—a mission that has only grown more important as the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately pushes women from the workforce. After the episode, visit www.sebrae.com.br/delasto learn more.

Politics in Brazil has long been criticized for cronyism and outright corruption, but the last few years have seen the rise of a younger group of Brazilian politicians—from across the political spectrum—calling for accountability, ethics, and data-driven policymaking. On this episode, investor and entrepreneur Eduardo Mufarej talks about the organization he co-founded, RenovaBR, to train young leaders for public service and about the push to renew politics in Brazil.

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil will lose a key ideological ally when U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office on January 20th. From climate change to human rights to China, Brazil-US dialogue is likely to undergo a profound shift. On this episode, Sergio Fausto, Executive-Director of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Foundation, and Nick Zimmerman, former Director of Brazil and the Southern Cone at the National Security Council, discuss what comes next for the relationship.

Brazil’s municipal elections are in just two weeks, and more than 145 million Brazilians are expected to go to the polls in 5,569 cities across the county. Earlier this month, we sat down with the President of the Superior Electoral Court, Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, for a socially-distanced conversation about the Court’s efforts to keep voters safe—not only from the coronavirus, but also from the threat of disinformation.

O  Brasil tem um dos maiores mercados de serviços de saúde no mundo. Ele já estava em transformação digital antes do covid-19. Agora, a  pandemia criou uma oportunidade para acelerar e aprofundar o uso de  tecnologia na área da saúde - da telemedicina à inteligência artificial e  big data. Como podemos aprender com essa pandemia e adaptar nossos serviços de saúde as exigências do presente e  do futuro?

Earlier this year, Brazil announced temporary, emergency cash payments for lower-income workers and other vulnerable groups as the economy went into lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. But as the coronavirus crisis drags on, pressure is mounting for the government to create a more permanent basic income program for lower-income Brazilians, as our guest Gustavo Ribeiro, award-winning journalist and co-Founder of the Brazilian Report, explains in this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast.

Brazil is facing crises on multiple fronts: COVID-19 cases continue to spike, the economy is in tatters, and the president is scrambling to rebuild political support following criticism of his pandemic response and the resignation of his justice minister in April. In this episode, host Anya Prusa talks with Nick Zimmerman, former NSC Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs and Director at Macro Advisory Partners, about the latest political crisis in Brazil, where President Bolsonaro currently stands, and what to watch for in the weeks ahead.

Wilson Center Global Fellow Fernando Cutz, an expert on U.S. foreign policy and Latin America, discusses Brazil’s dealings with the United States and China, and whether the coronavirus pandemic will shift those relationships in meaningful and lasting ways.

Award-winning journalist Patrícia Campos Mello, columnist and reporter at large for Folha de S. Paulo, discusses the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil and the three days she spent reporting from the frontlines of the pandemic at the Emílio Ribas hospital in São Paulo.