My research employs mixed-methods approaches, integrating survey experiments, quasi-experimental designs, quantitative text analysis, and in-depth interviews to investigate how elite dynamics and institutional arrangements influence democratic outcomes. This work has been supported by prestigious institutions including the Polarization Research Lab, the European University Institute, and the Brazilian Political Science Association.

One strand of my research focuses on the role of political families in shaping transparency, elections, and subnational variation in democratic outcomes. A working paper based on my PhD dissertation, which received the Best Dissertation Award in 2024 from the Brazilian Political Science Association, analyzes how dynastic mayors influence transparency. Contrary to common assumptions, I find that these officials do not uniformly undermine access to information. Building on this work, another paper examines how dynastic candidates draw on family legacies during electoral campaigns. Using quantitative text analysis and in-depth interviews, I show that these candidates often blend appeals to tradition with efforts to modernize their public image.

I further explore the electoral impact of political families in a co-authored paper with Yuri Kasahara, Taylor Boas, and Daniel Hidalgo. We analyze survey experimental data showing that political families can generate partisan-like attachments, with voter preferences shaped by both party labels and family connections. On the broader implications for democracy, a co-authored project with Javier Pérez Sandoval and Timothy Power investigates how elite pluralism at the subnational level affects polyarchy in Brazil. We find that lower levels of elite pluralism do not necessarily translate into weaker democratic performance.

In an ongoing research project, co-authored with Matheus Cunha, I investigate how non-professional politicians, particularly evangelical leaders, shape affective polarization. Preliminary results suggest that hostile messages from evangelical leaders do not increase affective polarization, although this may be due to a ceiling effect in our highly polarized sample. We are currently developing a second experiment to examine depolarizing messages.

Aligned with my interest in the effects of political institutions, preliminary results from a survey experiment using real-world information, co-authored with Matheus Cunha, show that coalition signals between political elites can foster depolarization while also potentially increasing political cynicism.

On this website, you can find more information about my research, current projects, and publications. You can also access an updated version of my CV and contact information. Please feel free to reach out!