Isabela Cruz

Isabela holds a degree in law and a master's in social sciences. She covers politics, the justice system and public policy.

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Guide to Brazil

Feb 14, 2026

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11 min read

🎊 Lula’s risky parade

A samba school’s adoring tribute to Brazil’s president has the political class watching — and conservatives fuming.

Isabela Cruz

Podcast

Feb 13, 2026

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3 min read

🎙️ Podcast: Brazilian stocks’ record run

Amid a global rotation of assets toward emerging markets, São Paulo’s stock exchange has maintained a consistent series of record highs. Brazil-specific factors further enhance its appeal.

Isabela Cruz

Brazil Daily

Feb 10, 2026

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16 min read

🤔 Corruption perception paradox

Brazil stalls in corruption rankings. A January rise in inflation. The tug-of-war between biodiesel and diesel.

Gustavo Ribeiro, +1

Guide to Brazil

Feb 8, 2026

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13 min read

👮 Kids or cadets?

Across Brazil, the militarization of schools generates electoral dividends, but leaves educators deeply concerned about the citizens and workforce being shaped.

Isabela Cruz

Mercosur-EU

Feb 5, 2026

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19 min read

🇷🇺 Fueling around

Brazil-Russia commission to meet for the first time since 2015. More back and forth over the EU-Mercosur deal. A look at the PSD power project.

Gustavo Ribeiro, +2

Guide to Brazil

Feb 1, 2026

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9 min read

👑 Brazil’s political dynasties

Brazilian politics has always been a family business. But the Bolsonaros have taken that to another level.

Isabela Cruz

Banco Master

Jan 30, 2026

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4 min read

🎙️ Podcast: Banco Master and the Supreme Court

Just after a historic trial, justices have pulled the court into the swirling scandal involving Banco Master. Now the Chief Justice's push for ethical standards is being put to the test

Isabela Cruz, +1

Guide to Brazil

Jan 25, 2026

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12 min read

🤖 Chatbots and the ballot box

Brazilian experts have been worried about the effects of AI on voters for some time now. In 2026, their fears could materialize.

Isabela Cruz

Mercosur-EU

Jan 22, 2026

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4 min read

🎙️ Podcast: How the Mercosur-EU deal impacts Brazilian firms beyond exports

From lowering regulatory and corruption risks, to fostering foreign direct investment and production chain integration, key advances are at stake

Isabela Cruz, +1

Mercosur-EU

Jan 22, 2026

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17 min read

🏔️ Davos no-show

Brazil’s president gives Davos a miss, again. Yet another delay to the EU-Mercosur deal. A bidding imbroglio at the Port of Santos.

Isabela Cruz, +1

Guide to Brazil

Jan 18, 2026

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9 min read

🗳️ Mind the gap

The voter divide between men and women has also reached Brazil, with potential impacts on October's election. Analysts discuss what is driving this process.

Isabela Cruz

Podcast

Jan 16, 2026

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3 min read

🎙️ Podcast: What happened to Brazil-Venezuela relations?

A diplomat and a reporter explore the history of bilateral relations and regional geopolitics — and the weight of oil in those political calculations.

Euan Marshall, +1

Banco Master

Jan 13, 2026

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15 min read

🤨 Family ties

The questions around a Supreme Court justice in the Banco Master case. The contradictions of Brazil’s silence on Iran. Feds carry out more raids in budgetary grant investigations.

Gustavo Ribeiro, +1

Guide to Brazil

Jan 11, 2026

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12 min read

🫵 Big Stick energy

Trump’s so-called “Don-roe Doctrine” is not just a repetition of the past, with Venezuela marking the arrival of US big-stick diplomacy in South America.

Isabela Cruz

Venezuela Crisis

Jan 5, 2026

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5 min read

🎙️ Podcast: How Trump’s Venezuela play reshapes South America’s risk map

The US has captured Nicolás Maduro and put him on trial in an American court. We analyze the impact of this move on politics, economics and diplomacy.

Gustavo Ribeiro, +1

Guide to Brazil

Dec 28, 2025

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10 min read

🩴 Havaianas’ fashion footprint

Brazil’s iconic rubber flip-flops were the world’s most coveted fashion item in 2025 — yet much of the country’s fashion culture remains to be revealed.

Isabela Cruz

Banco Master

Dec 19, 2025

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17 min read

🚨 Back-to-back raids

Raids in Congress over embezzlement cases. Another delay for the EU-Mercosur deal. Calls for a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.

Gustavo Ribeiro, +1

Podcast

Dec 18, 2025

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4 min read

🎙️ Podcast: Checks and balances turned into vendettas

A series of decisions made Brazil’s Congress look like a machine of political retaliation. But what paved the way for this situation, and how can the country move beyond it?

Isabela Cruz

Guide to Brazil

Dec 14, 2025

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10 min read

🎥 Oscar odds on

Acclaimed by critics, the Brazilian period thriller ‘The Secret Agent’ shows that where the rule of law collapses, authoritarianism seeps into social relationships at every level.

Isabela Cruz

Podcast

Dec 10, 2025

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5 min read

🎙️ Podcast: What needs repair in Brazil's public sector machine?

Brazil's special secretary for state transformation discusses the reform proposals coming from the lower house, and the Lula administration's approach.

Euan Marshall, +1

Guide to Brazil

Dec 7, 2025

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9 min read

⚖️ Brazil's ‘judiciarism’

Under the 1988 Constitution, the Supreme Court has the final say on whether a law is constitutional — but even this model’s defenders have spent a century debating its boundaries.

Isabela Cruz

Guide to Brazil

Nov 30, 2025

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13 min read

👉 Brazil’s Bolsonaro-based right

Ashamed after the military dictatorship, Brazil’s self-proclaimed right wing came out into the open just over a decade ago. Now, its most popular leader is behind bars.

Isabela Cruz

COP30

Nov 27, 2025

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4 min read

🎙️ Podcast: Good COP? Bad COP?

Carlos Nobre, head of the Planetary Science Pavilion at COP30 in the Amazon, talks to us about the conference’s results, the climate emergency we are living through, and what Brazil can still do.

Euan Marshall, +1

COP30

Nov 27, 2025

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14 min read

💭 Final COP thoughts

Rounding off our COP30 coverage, this week’s Brazil Climate newsletter invited more guest contributors to give their first-hand takes on the UN conference in Belém.

Euan Marshall, +3

Brazil Daily

Nov 26, 2025

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17 min read

🪖 Untouchables no more

Bolsonaro and co-conspirators begin serving their prison sentences as the coup trial ends. The Lula government has fallen out with Congress, again. Projections for Black Friday leave retailers giddy.

Gustavo Ribeiro, +1

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