Mauricio Lima Becomes First Brazilian Pulitzer Winner in Photography

Mauricio Lima, a Brazilian freelance photographer for The New York Times, has won the Pulitzer Prize in the Breaking News Photography category. This historic achievement marks the first time a Brazilian has received the award, which was established in 1917 through an endowment to Columbia University by journalist Joseph Pulitzer. Lima, along with Russian Sergey Ponomarev, American Tyler Hicks, and German Daniel Etter, was recognized for the series 'Exodus,' covering the European refugee crisis. The same series also earned them The John Faber Award from the Overseas Press Club of America. At 40 years old, Lima is a graduate in Social Communication from PUC São Paulo and began his career photographing sports in 1999. He later joined Agence France-Presse, remaining until 2011 before pursuing a solo freelance career. His work has also been honored with the World Press Photo award in the General News category for a 2015 report on a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter, published in The New York Times. Lima, who is represented in Brazil by DOC Galeria in São Paulo, describes his motivation as an 'incessant curiosity about human behavior' and the transformative power of visual narrative. He emphasizes the importance of photojournalism in giving voice to the voiceless and believes in the role of photography to provoke questioning and reflection.