Anti-Democratic Sentiment in Brazil, the McCarthy Deal, and More

January 13, 2023

Army soldiers stand guard outside Planalto Palace in Brasilia

Anti-democratic sentiment boils over in Brazil

“While Brazil’s federal institutions have admirably held the line against anti-democratic forces, what is now abundantly clear is that the embrace of authoritarianism has found a foothold in a country that 38 years ago emerged from repressive military rule.” Valerie Wirtschafter and Ted Piccone give context to the violence that unfolded in Brazil’s capital recently and explain how it differed from the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy holds a press conference in Statuary Hall

The McCarthy deal is guaranteed fiscal brinkmanship

Kevin McCarthy’s dealmaking last week involved government funding and the debt limit, suggesting that the United States is in for another round of high stakes fiscal brinkmanship—with the health of the economy at stake. Molly Reynolds outlines what to expect, writing that McCarthy has opened the door to some very tough economic choices.

Aerial View of Syracuse, New York on cloudy day

In Central New York, a test of the CHIPS and Science Act’s promise for economic revitalization

A framework developed by Syracuse, New York is emblematic of a new regional growth model that uses catalytic federal funding to unlock private capital and deploy it to generate good jobs, contracting opportunities, and investments in people and place, say Joseph Parilla, Xavier de Souza Briggs, and Mark Muro.