The University of São Paulo (USP) has canceled the participation of Portuguese sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos in the seminar titled “The Future of Democracy or the Democracy of the Future?” scheduled for August 25, citing “health issues” as the reason.
Reports indicate that protests against Sousa Santos’ visit to USP began earlier in the week following the announcement, due to the sociologist facing multiple accusations of sexual and moral harassment in 2023.
Students from the Ísis Dias de Oliveira Academic Center, Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences (FFLCH) at USP, issued a statement on social media emphasizing their opposition to the event being hosted at the university.
“We are sending formal complaints to the course coordination and department, demanding that the event be canceled,” they declared.
Three researchers associated with the Center for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra have accused Boaventura de Sousa Santos, aged 84, of harassment.
This led to the temporary removal of Sousa Santos and fellow researcher Bruno Sena Martins from all their positions at CES in April 2023.
Citing these accusations, CES established an independent committee to investigate, which released a report on March 13, 2024. The report confirmed patterns of power abuse and harassment from individuals in senior roles without naming any specific person.
According to this report, there were 14 individuals accused by 32 complainants, resulting in a total of 78 reported allegations.
