Introductory Remarks:

• Claudio Szajman, Executive President, VR Investments; Board Member, RenovaBR 
• Susan Segal, President and CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas 

Panelists:

• Tabata Amaral, Congresswoman, State of São Paulo, Brazil 
• Felipe Rigoni, Congressman, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil 
• Paulo Ganime, Congressman, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
• Brian Winter, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas; Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly (moderator)

After their first 100 days in Brazil's Congress, three freshman legislators, graduates of RenovaBR, were at AS/COA in New York to talk about lessons learned and priorities to focus on during their terms. Paulo Ganime said one area of focus should be security, Tabata Amaral is prioritizing education, and Felipe Rigoni emphasized the need to pass pension reform. But all agreed that there is a better way to do politics in the country's lower house than what was done in the past. "You can go entire weeks where nothing is decided because of polarization, because it is more important to make your political point than to think about the future of the country," said Amaral when asked about her main frustration. Rigoni discussed how ending immunity for politicians could help. Ganime, on the other hand, said having new faces—like theirs—in the Chamber of Deputies is a sign of decreasing corruption.