The following article, authored by Patrícia Villela Marino, was originally published in the newspaper O Globo on April 9. While a good portion of the Brazilian Parliament and public figures contort themselves in inflammatory rhetoric against the decriminalization of drugs, the numbers reveal an uncomfortable truth that penal populists prefer to ignore: organized crime in...
The following article, authored by Patrícia Villela Marino, was originally published in the Opinion section of the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo on December 14. On Monday, December 9, the President of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Luís Roberto Barroso, mandated the compulsory use of body cameras by police officers in the State of...
The following article was originally published in Portuguese in the newspaper O Globo on November 25, 2024. The recent decision by Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) to authorize the importation of seeds and the cultivation of hemp for medicinal purposes represents a milestone in the country’s drug policy. While this ruling opens doors for...
The following article was originally published in Portuguese in the newspaper O Globo on October 12, 2024. For whom has Brazil been a homeland? It may seem like a simple question, but any attempt to answer it honestly exposes some of the country’s deepest flaws. The etymology of “pátria” (Portuguese for “homeland”) suggests a connection...
The following article was originally published in Portuguese in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo on April 12, 2024. Brazil has a sad tradition of public figures who, unable to present adequate solutions to the problems they should solve, resort to simple formulas and easy ways out. The strategy is used by administrators who prefer...
The following interview, conducted by journalist Valéria França, was originally published in Portuguese in Veja magazine on March 1, 2024. With the largest prison population in its history, more than 830 thousand prisoners, the Brazilian prison system has major problems, such as overcrowding, lack of operational infrastructure and organized crime. Despite the complex problems, Brazilian...
The following interview was originally published in Portuguese in Marie Claire magazine in January 2024. When lawyer Patrícia Villela Marino recorded a video in support of President Lula in October 2022, she didn’t expect the reaction that was to come. Married for more than 20 years to Ricardo Villela Marino, chairman of Itaú’s Board of...
The following article was originally published in Portuguese by Juliano Spyer in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper in January 2024. I knocked on many doors looking for evangelicals who publicly defend the medicinal use of Cannabis. And I received two responses. Some people shrugged their shoulders, thinking that Christianity and marijuana are topics that don’t...
The following article, written by Natalia Viri, was originally published in Portuguese in Exame magazine in January 2024. A member of one of the wealthiest families in Brazil, Patrícia Villela did not shy away from urgent – and thorny – causes. On the contrary, she embraced them. Married to Ricardo Villela Marino, whose family is...
The following article, written by Marília Marasciulo, was originally published in Portuguese in Galileu magazine in December 2023. Rio de Janeiro, October 18, 2023. While the world’s attention was focused on the bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Complexo da Maré, in the north of the capital of Rio de...