Robert Muggah
@muggah.bsky.social
Co-founder of Igarapé Institute, SecDev, and Bioverse | Geopolitics, security, technology, cities and nature enthusiast | TED speaker | Lancet Commission | Bosch Academy | Author of Terra Incognita | SuperNature | robertmuggah.org
With #Haiti’s government paralyzed and gangs ruling the capital, vigilante commissioner Muscadin embodies the nation’s desperation - seen as a savior by supporters and a human-rights violator by critics. Spoke to @rollingstone.com about what’s at stake.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
'Every Man We Killed Is a Gangster': On the Front Lines with Haiti's Vigilantes
Jean Ernest Muscadin's official duties are to prosecute crimes — but he's been accused of summarily killing dozens of purported gang members himself
www.rollingstone.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:46 PM
With #Haiti’s government paralyzed and gangs ruling the capital, vigilante commissioner Muscadin embodies the nation’s desperation - seen as a savior by supporters and a human-rights violator by critics. Spoke to @rollingstone.com about what’s at stake.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
#Brazil’s criminal economy is a vast drag on growth. Once indirect losses are included, #crime may be shaving 12–14% off GDP each year, a regressive hidden tax on households and firms.
theconversation.com/how-crime-in...
theconversation.com/how-crime-in...
How crime in Brazil drags down the economy and heaps economic pain on the nation’s poor
The percentage hit on Brazil’s GDP could be in the double digits.
theconversation.com
December 9, 2025 at 7:25 PM
#Brazil’s criminal economy is a vast drag on growth. Once indirect losses are included, #crime may be shaving 12–14% off GDP each year, a regressive hidden tax on households and firms.
theconversation.com/how-crime-in...
theconversation.com/how-crime-in...
Brazil has a vast “invisible criminal economy” worth 12–14% of GDP — a hidden tax that hits the poor hardest. Brasília’s starting to treat crime not just as a public health, but as a central economic issue. @theconvo-bot.bsky.social
theconversation.com/com-prejuizo...
theconversation.com/com-prejuizo...
Com prejuízos de até R$ 1,5 trilhão aos cofres públicos, crime é imposto oculto na economia brasileira
Estes são os números oficiais mais conservadores das perdas anuais causadas pelo contrabando, a evasão fiscal, os crimes ambientais e a violência
theconversation.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Brazil has a vast “invisible criminal economy” worth 12–14% of GDP — a hidden tax that hits the poor hardest. Brasília’s starting to treat crime not just as a public health, but as a central economic issue. @theconvo-bot.bsky.social
theconversation.com/com-prejuizo...
theconversation.com/com-prejuizo...
#Bukele inspira políticos brasileiros com seu modelo de “mano dura”, mas especialistas alertam para riscos e limites. No #Brasil, poder das facções, regras constitucionais e escala do país impedem copiar El Salvador. www.bbc.com/portuguese/a...
'Estilo Bukele' de segurança pública em El Salvador poderia ser replicado no Brasil? - BBC News Brasil
Líderes da direita no Brasil, como o governador de Minas Geraus, Romeu Zema (Novo), e o deputado federal Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), defendem e elogiam modelo.
www.bbc.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
#Bukele inspira políticos brasileiros com seu modelo de “mano dura”, mas especialistas alertam para riscos e limites. No #Brasil, poder das facções, regras constitucionais e escala do país impedem copiar El Salvador. www.bbc.com/portuguese/a...
#COP30 opened in floods and ended in fire, fitting for a summit that saw small wins but missed a #fossilfuel phaseout. Frustrating as COP was, it shows that multilateralism isn’t broken and the world won’t wait for unanimous agreement. @theglobeandmail.com
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: COP30 is a reminder that the world can’t wait for perfect consensus to act on climate change
Failure to declare phase-out of oil, gas and coal shows tyranny of the minority – but multilateralism remains alive and well
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
#COP30 opened in floods and ended in fire, fitting for a summit that saw small wins but missed a #fossilfuel phaseout. Frustrating as COP was, it shows that multilateralism isn’t broken and the world won’t wait for unanimous agreement. @theglobeandmail.com
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
#COP30 failed on #fossilfuels but (partially) delivered across #forests and #finance. It shows how new multi-alignments are shaping climate politics. So what does the Belem Summit reveal about our turbulent geopolitical era? New analysis from SecDev.
bit.ly/49Cb5Sm
bit.ly/49Cb5Sm
No time to COP out
In Belém, climate geopolitics meets its limits, but not its end.
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 1:16 PM
#COP30 failed on #fossilfuels but (partially) delivered across #forests and #finance. It shows how new multi-alignments are shaping climate politics. So what does the Belem Summit reveal about our turbulent geopolitical era? New analysis from SecDev.
bit.ly/49Cb5Sm
bit.ly/49Cb5Sm
Floods and fire at the #COP30 summit underscored the urgency for action beyond the negotiation halls. @valoreconomico.bsky.social.
valorinternational.globo.com/cop30-brazil...
valorinternational.globo.com/cop30-brazil...
Opinion: Mother Earth’s scream at COP30
Floods and fire at the Amazon summit underscored the urgency for action beyond negotiation halls
valorinternational.globo.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Floods and fire at the #COP30 summit underscored the urgency for action beyond the negotiation halls. @valoreconomico.bsky.social.
valorinternational.globo.com/cop30-brazil...
valorinternational.globo.com/cop30-brazil...
#COP30 began with floods and ended with fires. Belém serves as a reminder that climate diplomacy is no longer a distant conversation among ministers: it is a stress test for the places where most people actually live. New with #AmericasQuarterly: americasquarterly.org/article/the-...
The Legacy of COP30 for Latin America
As the UN climate summit in Brazil winds down, one attendee looks at its lasting effects for the region.
americasquarterly.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
#COP30 began with floods and ended with fires. Belém serves as a reminder that climate diplomacy is no longer a distant conversation among ministers: it is a stress test for the places where most people actually live. New with #AmericasQuarterly: americasquarterly.org/article/the-...
With only a few hours of #COP30 negotiations remaining, scientists, activists, political and business leaders, and Indigenous Peoples are urging delegations to deliver a clear #roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and to protect tropical #forests and #oceans.
illuminem.com/illuminemvoi...
illuminem.com/illuminemvoi...
COP30 must protect the stability of Earth’s two richest biomes – the Amazon rainforest and the coral reefs | illuminem
Scientists, activists, and leaders urge COP30 to deliver a clear roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and protect tropical forests and coral reefs
illuminem.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:21 PM
With only a few hours of #COP30 negotiations remaining, scientists, activists, political and business leaders, and Indigenous Peoples are urging delegations to deliver a clear #roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and to protect tropical #forests and #oceans.
illuminem.com/illuminemvoi...
illuminem.com/illuminemvoi...
How organised crime took over areas of Rio de Janeiro, and why violent police raids won’t fix the problem. Short podcast with The Conversation.
@us.theconversation.com
@theconversation.com
theconversation.com/how-organise...
@us.theconversation.com
@theconversation.com
theconversation.com/how-organise...
How organised crime took over areas of Rio de Janeiro – and why violent police raids won’t fix the problem
Robert Muggah, an expert in organised crime in Brazil, explains the origins of the Commando Vermehlo, the gang targeted in a deadly raid in Rio de Janeiro in late October.
theconversation.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
How organised crime took over areas of Rio de Janeiro, and why violent police raids won’t fix the problem. Short podcast with The Conversation.
@us.theconversation.com
@theconversation.com
theconversation.com/how-organise...
@us.theconversation.com
@theconversation.com
theconversation.com/how-organise...
Cidades são laboratório de inovação nas ações climáticas.
#COP30 #C40 #Bloomberg
valor.globo.com/brasil/cop30...
#COP30 #C40 #Bloomberg
valor.globo.com/brasil/cop30...
‘Cidades são laboratório de inovação nas ações climáticas’, diz economista
Cofundador do Igarapé, Robert Muggah diz que é possível que projetos locais sejam reproduzidos
valor.globo.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Cidades são laboratório de inovação nas ações climáticas.
#COP30 #C40 #Bloomberg
valor.globo.com/brasil/cop30...
#COP30 #C40 #Bloomberg
valor.globo.com/brasil/cop30...
The world’s sliding into an age of managed disorder. #Ukraine’s where the new geometry comes into view. Its fight isn’t only for territory, but also which habits – coercion and carve-up or cooperation and constraint – defines the next chapter of world order.
washingtonspectator.org/the-great-re...
washingtonspectator.org/the-great-re...
The Great Rewiring | Washington Spectator
The world is sliding into an age of managed disorder, and Ukraine is where the new geometry comes into view. What began as Russia’s bid to subdue a neighbor is now a stress test of the international…
washingtonspectator.org
November 1, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The world’s sliding into an age of managed disorder. #Ukraine’s where the new geometry comes into view. Its fight isn’t only for territory, but also which habits – coercion and carve-up or cooperation and constraint – defines the next chapter of world order.
washingtonspectator.org/the-great-re...
washingtonspectator.org/the-great-re...
Even as the White House pushes a counter-drugs/terrorism narrative, evidence points to a regime change. But military action could rally nationalist sentiment, fracture hemispheric consensus and drag the U.S. into a longer confrontation with regional spillovers.
theconversation.com/us-squeeze-o...
theconversation.com/us-squeeze-o...
US squeeze on Venezuela won’t bring about rapid collapse of Maduro – in fact, it might boomerang on Washington
Covert ops and military buildup in the Caribbean suggest Washington is eying a regime change. But are conditions ripe in Venezuela?
theconversation.com
November 1, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Even as the White House pushes a counter-drugs/terrorism narrative, evidence points to a regime change. But military action could rally nationalist sentiment, fracture hemispheric consensus and drag the U.S. into a longer confrontation with regional spillovers.
theconversation.com/us-squeeze-o...
theconversation.com/us-squeeze-o...
Reposted by Robert Muggah
Today is #WorldCitiesDay. Last month, @muggah.bsky.social and Carlo Ratti pointed out that cities have long served as crucibles for political and economic reform, and urged progressives to reclaim experimental urbanism as a platform for democratic renewal. bit.ly/3Wt5HJq
Authoritarians’ Brave New Cities
Robert Muggah & Carlo Ratti urge progressives to reclaim the mantle of experimental urbanism from the techno-libertarian right.
www.project-syndicate.org
October 31, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Today is #WorldCitiesDay. Last month, @muggah.bsky.social and Carlo Ratti pointed out that cities have long served as crucibles for political and economic reform, and urged progressives to reclaim experimental urbanism as a platform for democratic renewal. bit.ly/3Wt5HJq
A polícia precisa tratar o tráfico internacional de armas de fogo como um crime da cadeia de suprimentos, especialmente considerando a estimativa de que 90% dos fuzis usados por facções criminosas.”
#Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/brasil/apos-...
#Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/brasil/apos-...
Após operação mais letal da história, desafio é combater economia do crime
Para especialistas é preciso asfixiar o financiamento do crime. Só em ouro, combustíveis, tabaco e bebidas as organizações criminosas movimentam R$ 145 bilhões por ano, além de faturar R$ 335 bilhões ...
exame.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:22 PM
A polícia precisa tratar o tráfico internacional de armas de fogo como um crime da cadeia de suprimentos, especialmente considerando a estimativa de que 90% dos fuzis usados por facções criminosas.”
#Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/brasil/apos-...
#Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/brasil/apos-...
“We’ve seen time and time again that heavy-handed approaches do not dismantle criminal networks,” said Robert Muggah, an expert on organized crime in Latin America and the research director of Igarapé Institute, a research group.“
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
Over 130 Killed in Bloody Crackdown on Drug Gangs in Rio de Janeiro
www.nytimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:29 AM
“We’ve seen time and time again that heavy-handed approaches do not dismantle criminal networks,” said Robert Muggah, an expert on organized crime in Latin America and the research director of Igarapé Institute, a research group.“
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
O Rio de Janeiro revela-se uma cidade cada vez mais sitiada pelo crime organizado. Ao final da tarde, o estado já havia confirmado 64 mortos na Operação Contenção, no confronto mais sangrento em um único dia no Rio em décadas. #ConversationBR
theconversation.com/analise-o-cr...
theconversation.com/analise-o-cr...
Análise: O crime organizado se tornou o maior negócio do Brasil - e sua mais séria ameaça
A economia criminosa do Brasil deixou os becos para ocupar também salas de reuniões, constar de balanços patrimoniais e cadeias de suprimentos essenciais
theconversation.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:17 PM
O Rio de Janeiro revela-se uma cidade cada vez mais sitiada pelo crime organizado. Ao final da tarde, o estado já havia confirmado 64 mortos na Operação Contenção, no confronto mais sangrento em um único dia no Rio em décadas. #ConversationBR
theconversation.com/analise-o-cr...
theconversation.com/analise-o-cr...
A #COP30 deve levar crimes ambientais ao centro, alinhar clima, justiça e segurança, e incluir métricas de Estado de Direito, transparência fundiária, anticorrupção e capacidade judicial nas #NDCs, nos planos de adaptação e nas revisões globais. #Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/esg/o-crime-...
exame.com/esg/o-crime-...
October 20, 2025 at 11:05 PM
A #COP30 deve levar crimes ambientais ao centro, alinhar clima, justiça e segurança, e incluir métricas de Estado de Direito, transparência fundiária, anticorrupção e capacidade judicial nas #NDCs, nos planos de adaptação e nas revisões globais. #Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/esg/o-crime-...
exame.com/esg/o-crime-...
World War III no longer feels unthinkable. Here’s why. Spoke to #USAtoday about what some of our forecasting at #SecDev are revealing.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
'Clash that could expand.' Why global war no longer feels like remote prospect
Many Europeans and Americans no longer view a global war as a remote prospect and believe World War III could happen in the next five to ten years.
www.usatoday.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM
World War III no longer feels unthinkable. Here’s why. Spoke to #USAtoday about what some of our forecasting at #SecDev are revealing.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Climate diplomacy has long treated #environmental #crimes such as illegal logging, gold mining and wildlife trafficking as a sideshow. #COP30 offers an opportunity to fix that. My latest with @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/f544...
www.ft.com/content/f544...
COP must take environmental crime seriously
The costs of inaction are stark, but prevention is a bargain
www.ft.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Climate diplomacy has long treated #environmental #crimes such as illegal logging, gold mining and wildlife trafficking as a sideshow. #COP30 offers an opportunity to fix that. My latest with @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/f544...
www.ft.com/content/f544...
“Freedom cities” championed by Silicon Valley’s techno-libertarian elite risk undermining democracy rather than shoring it up. Latest by Carlo Ratti and me in @sol24.bsky.social.
en.ilsole24ore.com/art/the-new-...
en.ilsole24ore.com/art/the-new-...
The New Metropolises of the Authoritarians
The 'freedom cities' championed by the Silicon Valley techno-libertarian elite and Donald Trump are enclaves of deregulated, digitally powered and centrally planned innovation. The challenge is not to...
en.ilsole24ore.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
“Freedom cities” championed by Silicon Valley’s techno-libertarian elite risk undermining democracy rather than shoring it up. Latest by Carlo Ratti and me in @sol24.bsky.social.
en.ilsole24ore.com/art/the-new-...
en.ilsole24ore.com/art/the-new-...
O confronto entre EUA e Venezuela se aproxima. Ataques parecem plausíveis, mas Washington ainda pretende levar Caracas ao limite por meio de pressão, não de invasão. @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/eua-e-venezu...
theconversation.com/eua-e-venezu...
EUA e Venezuela estão próximos de um conflito armado - mas preocupações domésticas e riscos internacionais podem impedir Washington de avançar
O aumento da presença militar dos EUA no Caribe levou o presidente venezuelano Nicolás Maduro a responder com exercícios militares
theconversation.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:52 PM
O confronto entre EUA e Venezuela se aproxima. Ataques parecem plausíveis, mas Washington ainda pretende levar Caracas ao limite por meio de pressão, não de invasão. @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/eua-e-venezu...
theconversation.com/eua-e-venezu...
US-Venezuela showdown looms. Strikes seem plausible, but Washington still aims to push Caracas over the edge through pressure, not invasion. Latest from @us.theconversation.com.
theconversation.com/venezuela-an...
theconversation.com/venezuela-an...
Venezuela and US edge toward war footing − but domestic concerns, international risks may hold Washington back
US military buildup in the Caribbean has prompted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to reciprocate with military drills.
theconversation.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
US-Venezuela showdown looms. Strikes seem plausible, but Washington still aims to push Caracas over the edge through pressure, not invasion. Latest from @us.theconversation.com.
theconversation.com/venezuela-an...
theconversation.com/venezuela-an...
A guerra ampliada dos EUA contra as drogas pode projetar poder, mas é
improvável que afete o mercado. Os aliados se afastarão se virem coerção em
vez de parceria. #Estadao
www.estadao.com.br/amp/internac...
improvável que afete o mercado. Os aliados se afastarão se virem coerção em
vez de parceria. #Estadao
www.estadao.com.br/amp/internac...
Trump usa guerra contra as drogas para interesses geopolíticos. Vai funcionar?
Embora o fentanil proveniente da China parecesse ser o principal foco do presidente durante sua campanha, o alvo mais tradicional da cocaína sul-americana tornou-se mais proeminente recentemente
www.estadao.com.br
September 30, 2025 at 12:38 AM
A guerra ampliada dos EUA contra as drogas pode projetar poder, mas é
improvável que afete o mercado. Os aliados se afastarão se virem coerção em
vez de parceria. #Estadao
www.estadao.com.br/amp/internac...
improvável que afete o mercado. Os aliados se afastarão se virem coerção em
vez de parceria. #Estadao
www.estadao.com.br/amp/internac...