Brazil Talk has a new Board of Directors for the 2023/24 term

In March 2023, Brazil Talk, a non-partisan collaboration founded in 2015 by Brazilian Students at Columbia University, announced a new directorship for the 2023/24 term.  Brazil Talk’s primary goal is to facilitate networking and provide content to SIPA students on current Brazilian topics. The organization has grown to include graduate students from SIPA, Teachers College,… Read More Brazil Talk has a new Board of Directors for the 2023/24 term

Facultative Voting and the Erosion of the Median Voter Theorem

by Álvaro Rossi, BA Candidate in Economic and Political Science, Columbia University.   The year of 2016 has been a challenging one for political economists. From the unexpected results of the Brexit and Peace referendums in Great Britain and Colombia respectively, to the unprecedented election of real estate mogul Donald Trump as President of the United… Read More Facultative Voting and the Erosion of the Median Voter Theorem

Brazilians Have A Civic Role In Keeping the “Bolsa Familia” Program

By Marina Lafer, MPA Candidate at SIPA, Columbia University In 2004, belonging to a social and economic environment in which people were constantly raising doubts over the efficacy of Lula’s policies as Brazil’s President, I remember myself having a bad – unsupported – impression over Bolsa Familia, a program that aims to provide small cash… Read More Brazilians Have A Civic Role In Keeping the “Bolsa Familia” Program

Confirmation bias and the impeachment: How social media in Brazil helped alienate public opinion

by Fernanda Nogueira, Co-Editor and Writer at Brazil Talk Over 90% of Brazilians use social media to read the news, and 70% of them have Facebook as their main source[1]. It is a global trend, and it presents serious risks to public participation in politics, for the simple fact that one can select exactly what… Read More Confirmation bias and the impeachment: How social media in Brazil helped alienate public opinion