The end of the Soviet Union and the socialist countries of Eastern Europe was hailed as the great universal consolidation of capitalism, considered the “natural” way to organize the economy and society—the end of history.

Few thinkers of the contemporary era have so persistently and courageously challenged the foundations of Western intellectual dominance as Boaventura de Sousa Santos.

The presidential elections this coming October in Brazil (currently in the eye of the storm) are an internal matter for the country, and it is up to Brazilians alone to decide who will be the next president. In theory, that is how it should be, and practice should reflect it, but unfortunately it does not. This could have dramatic consequences for the future of democracy in Brazil and around the world.