Brazil Institute Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.