Izabela Patriota’s Mercatus Fellowship Story
From Brazil to D.C.: How Global Dialogue at Mercatus Helped Izabela Patriota Bring Classical Liberal Ideas Back to Brazil and Beyond
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he fellowship didn't just provide Izabela Patriota with monthly flights from São Paulo to D.C. for colloquia; it connected her to a global network of fellows and scholars who shared her commitment to liberty. Today, as Director of Development at the Ladies of Liberty Alliance, Izabela applies everything she learned; writing op-eds, engaging donors in substantive conversations about freedom, and bringing classical liberal perspectives back to Brazil.
When Izabela Patriota first arrived in Washington, D.C., she had just moved to the United States from Brazil. Alone and driven by her passion for classical liberalism, she began looking for opportunities that would allow her to deepen her research while staying focused on her PhD studies. That’s when a chance encounter changed everything. “I was a Cato intern in 2019. I had just moved to the US.” recalls Izabela Patriota. “The internship would only take four months, and I was looking for different opportunities because I was also a PhD student at the time and I wanted opportunities that would keep me focusing only in my studies.”
Izabela was accepted as a Frédéric Bastiat Fellow in 2020. Her reason for applying was clear: “I chose Mercatus because it aligns with my philosophy. I am a classical liberal. I see myself that way, philosophically speaking. So, I was studying a way to deregulate urban policies in Brazil, in my city, precisely. So, I chose Mercatus because it would give me, it would equip me with the right perspective.”
I really appreciated it because it was not only American oriented… it was nice to see that they were encouraging other problems to be discussed as well.
The experience she gained from the program was just as impactful as the ideas. “I really liked to connect with the other fellows because there were fellows from all around the world,” she said. “I really appreciated it because it was not only American oriented… it was nice to see that they were encouraging other problems to be discussed as well.”
It really changed my life. I was discussing with the best professors in the field, with the best students in the world in the same room.
She remembered how rare it felt to talk about these topics with peers from her region: “We were talking a lot about what was going on in our region. So, it was very nice and putting in perspective something that's very rare in our region. All of this philosophy that we're trying to apply to our studies are very rare. We don't talk about it that often. So here it's very common to talk about it, there it isn't. So it's very new to bring those perspectives back home.”
When asked about the atmosphere of the fellowship, Izabela was clear: “I think everything was very respectful and very open-minded… it was not about indoctrinating anybody. It was about discussing based on the philosophers that we had to read.”
Her experience attending the colloquia stood out: “I do remember one comment from another fellow… her mother wouldn't really understand the colloquium… I was like telling her and imagine like this doesn't exist in my culture at all. Like that doesn't exist in Brazil. Nobody's gonna pay you to study something and get everything like spoiling you to study, you know?”
“It really changed my life,” she said. “It was the real incentive to study in something that you really like and something that is so competitive. And yet I got it… I was discussing with the best professors in the field, with the best students in the world in the same room.”
I still use all of the knowledge that I gained from the fellowship. I apply all of the philosophy that we studied here.
She also highlighted a key inspiration: “I really admire Professor Jayme Lemke… I think her perspective on women's issues is precisely what I believe… So, it was an honor to me, for instance, in 2021 when I shared the stage with her for an Atlas Liberty Forum in Miami.”
Izabela is now Director of Development at the Ladies of Liberty Alliance. “I still use all of the knowledge that I gained from the fellowship,” she said. “Even if I'm doing only development, I'm still engaging in conversation with our own donors… I still write op-eds… I apply all of the philosophy that we studied here.”
To donors, her message is simple: “I just want them to know how grateful I am and how it changed my life and how I am still applying everything that I gained from the fellowship in everything that I do.”