Meet the Delegates of the Brazilian Blueprint
Why did we choose Brazil as a place to explore democracy?
As two of the largest, most diverse democracies in the Western Hemisphere, comparing the U.S. and Brazil underscores how representative government depends on four structural pillars: institutional accountability that upholds the rule of law, an information ecosystem that counters historical erasure, cross-partisan civic norms that foster social cohesion, and inclusive national stories that define a shared future across deep ideological divides. In short, democratic resilience relies as much on narrative infrastructure as it does on formal institutional design.
Earlier this month, 24 people personally experienced many versions of Brazil, many for the very first time.
For 8 days in October, 14 delegates from the United States and Mexico, 3 members of Stories Change Power’s core planning team, 2 local guides, and 5 videographers met with counterparts and communities in and around São Paulo about electoral integrity, social cohesion, equal treatment under the law, and countering mis/dis-information.
The delegation making the idea of cross-cultural democracy collaboration a reality includes:
Aditi Juneja, Founder & Executive Director, Democracy 2076
Colin Cole, Director of Policy, Outreach, and Communications, More Equitable Democracy
George Cheung, Executive Director, More Equitable Democracy
Hugo Balta, Executive Editor of The Fulcrum and Publisher of the Latino News Network
Isaiah Pinzino, independent journalist, writer, and student at the University of Missouri-Columbia
Khalilah Spencer, President, Promote the Vote & Secretary of the NAACP - Detroit Branch
Krystal Lindsey, Founder & Principal, The EDvocate Group
Peter Pattakos, The Pattakos Law Firm LLC
Rodolfo Córdova Alcaraz, Executive Vice President, Metropolitan Group
Rev. Rodney Sadler, Professor of Bible and Director of the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation at Union Presbyterian Seminary
Spencer Overton, Founder & faculty director of the Multiracial Democracy Projectat George Washington University Law School
Stacey Carless, Founder & Executive Director of NC Counts Coalition
Rev. Terry Kyllo, Executive Director, Paths to Understanding
Ximena Canseco Michel, Director, Impacto Social Metropolitan Group
The timing of this work is intentional. We know that choices people make one day in one part of the world shape the future of communities across the globe for years to come.
The striking similarities and differences between January 6, 2021 in the United States and January 8, 2023 in Brazil sparked this project.
Now one presidential election cycle later in both countries, it’s clear that upholding the democratic values we profess requires ongoing commitment. Or, as one of our Brazilian partners shared earlier this year:
“The work [of democracy] is every single day.”
The Brazilian Blueprint is about learning across borders, building relationships, and exploring what people seeking to strengthen democracy in Brazil, the United States, and around the world can do when we join hands.
Coming back from Brazil, we know in our bones that democracy is not sustained by institutions alone. Democracy depends on we, the people: our courage, our creativity, our commitment, and our willingness to work together.
Stay tuned as we share more in the weeks and months ahead, and join us on Friday, November 13, at noon ET to hear more from the delegation:
October 28, 2026
