In May, the Brazil Program at the Inter-American Dialogue led a bipartisan U.S. Congressional staff delegation to Brazil, with visits to Brasilia and Sao Paulo. The delegation included senior staff members from both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate and was accompanied by Bruna Santos, director of the Brazil Program, and Ambassador Liliana Ayalde, former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil and member of the Brazil Program Advisory Council.
The visit was designed to give congressional staff a direct and substantive understanding of Brazil’s political institutions, economic priorities, strategic sectors, and the domestic debates shaping the U.S.-Brazil relationship. Rather than approach Brazil from Washington, the delegation engaged directly with the people and institutions shaping the country’s decisions.
Over the course of the week, participants met with senior officials from the Brazilian government, members of the Brazilian Congress, representatives of the judiciary, civil society leaders, law enforcement officials, private sector executives, analysts, and U.S. Embassy personnel. The agenda covered trade and investment, industrial policy, energy, critical minerals, supply chains, foreign policy, democracy, public security, organized crime, rule of law, and the operating environment for companies in Brazil.
The delegation advanced one of the Brazil Program’s core objectives: helping U.S. policymakers understand Brazil with more context, access, and nuance. By connecting congressional staff with a broad range of Brazilian stakeholders, the visit strengthened bilateral understanding, reinforced legislature-to-legislature ties, and helped identify areas where U.S.-Brazil cooperation can become more practical and strategic.
Day 1 | Monday, May 25: Brasilia
Monday, May 25, marked the first day of our U.S. Congressional staff delegation to Brazil. Joined by Ambassador Liliana Ayalde and the Brazil Program team, the delegation began its agenda in Brasilia with meetings focused on the future of the Brazil-U.S. economic and strategic relationship.
Our first meeting took place at the Office of the Vice Presidency (Vice-Presidência da República) with chief diplomatic advisor Celso de Tarso Pereira. The conversation offered a direct view into how the Brazilian government is thinking about development, industrial policy, trade, supply chain resilience, critical minerals, food security, climate, agriculture, and digital transformation.
We then continued the discussion at the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) with secretary Tatiana Prazeres, deputy executive secretary Aline Damasceno Ferreira Schleicher, and representatives from MDIC’s key secretaries. The delegation heard about Brazil’s industrial agenda, foreign trade priorities, competitiveness and regulatory policy, green economy strategy, investment promotion, and recent efforts to expand market access and strengthen the business environment.
Day 2 | Tuesday, May 26: Brasilia
Day 2 in Brasilia focused on the substance of the Brazil-U.S. agenda: foreign policy, energy, critical minerals, trade, democracy, and state capacity.
We began with a private briefing at the U.S. Embassy with chargé d’affaires Gabriel Escobar and DCM Kim Kelly, followed by a meeting at the Presidency with Audo Araujo Faleiro on Brazil’s foreign policy priorities and global outlook. In the afternoon, we met with the secretary Ana Paula Lima Vieira Bittencourt and her team at the Ministry of Mines and Energy (Ministério de Minas e Energia) to discuss Brazil’s energy and mining policy framework, critical minerals, the energy transition, and opportunities for cooperation. We also joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce critical minerals event and reception.
The day closed with a dinner conversation with Francisco Gaetani (extraordinary secretary at Brazil’s Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services), Guilherme Almeida (program director at Brazil’s Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services), and Sergio Xavier (special advisor to President Lula) on public sector transformation, implementation, and state capacity.
Day 3 | Wednesday, May 27: Brasilia
Day 3 in Brasilia began with a breakfast with civil society leaders Vitor Oliveira, from Pulso Público – Consultoria Política and Bruno Brandão, from Transparency International Brazil, discussing democracy, accountability, the political environment, and the role of independent voices in Brazil’s institutional life.
We then moved to the Brazilian Congress for legislature-to-legislature conversations with Congressman Arnaldo Jardim in the Chamber of Deputies, and Senator Tereza Cristina, in the Federal Senate, on Brazil-U.S. cooperation, critical minerals, technology, agribusiness, public security, and the role of Congress in shaping the bilateral agenda.
The afternoon continued with meetings at the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF), with staff from the office of the Justice President Edson Fachin, and at the Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE), with Alexandre Ghisleni (director of the Department of Economic, Financial, and Services Policy), Guilherme Bayer (head of the Trade Disputes Division), Daniel Nogueira (head of the North America Policy Division), and Pedro Martins (coordinator-general for the G20).
We closed the day with a dinner conversation with Gustavo Caminoto Geiser, environmental forensic expert at the Brazilian Federal Police, on illegal mining in the Amazon, environmental crime, regional security, and the possibilities for stronger Brazil-U.S. cooperation.
Day 4 | Thursday, May 28: Sao Paulo
Our fourth day was in Sao Paulo, where we started with an insightful lunch on the importance of São Paulo State in the bilateral relationship, highlighting how U.S.-Brazil ties extend beyond the Brasilia-Washington dynamic to include subnational engagement and other branches of government, including the legislative branch. In addition to our delegation members, we were joined by Samo Tosatti, head of International Affairs of Sao Paulo State Government, and representatives from InvestSP.
In the afternoon, we met with representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, including Lincoln Gakiya and Paulo Sérgio de Oliveira e Costa, for a discussion on public security and organized crime. Finally, we met with representatives from the agricultural sector, including ABIEC (Associação Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carnes) – Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries, where we explored key bottlenecks facing the industry in both Brazil and the United States, as well as opportunities to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
Day 5 | Friday, May 29: Sao Paulo
In our fifth and final day, we started the morning by co-hosting an event at Amcham-Brasil focused on the U.S.-Brazil relationship. Abrao M. Arabe Neto, president of AmCham Brazil, opened the discussion with an overview of the economic ties between the two countries and the opportunities for deeper bilateral cooperation. Leonardo Porto, Brazil head economist at Citi Brazil, then presented an overview of the country’s current economic landscape, followed by Thiago Schwinke Vidal, political analysis director at Prospectiva Public Affairs Latam, who shared insights on Brazil’s political outlook and the road to the 2026 elections. The discussion also featured private sector representatives from companies with a strong stake in the bilateral relationship.
In the afternoon, we met with David Marques from the Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública, to discuss the organization’s work and Brazil’s current public security landscape. The conversation covered topics such as the Brazilian prison system, the expansion of organized crime, and the implications of these dynamics for U.S.-Brazil cooperation on security and transnational crime.
