Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian economist and academic. He has served as president of the Institute for Latin American Studies (IELA) at the
Federal University of Santa Catarina
The Federal University of Santa Catarina ( pt, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, UFSC) is a public university in Florianópolis, the capital city of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil.
Considered one of the leading universities in Brazil ...
and as a professor of economics at the same university. Throughout his academic career, he has taught at institutions across the world, including the
National University of Tucumán
The National University of Tucumán ( es, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, UNT) is an Argentine national university located in Tucumán Province and the largest in Argentina's northwest region. Founded on 25 May 1914 in San Miguel de Tucumán ...
in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
(UNAM), the
Bolivarian University of Venezuela
The Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela (UBV, en, Bolivarian University of Venezuela) is a state university in Venezuela founded in 2003 by decree of President Hugo Chávez.
The UBV is a part of the Chávez government's "Mission Sucre" social p ...
, and Simón Bolívar University in
Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
. In 2020, Ouriques was included on a list of so-called "government detractors" in academia and journalism.
Life and academic career
Ouriques was born in
Joaçaba
Joaçaba is a city situated in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, with approximately 30,404 inhabitants. Located in 27º10'22" S and 51º30'03" W and 516.74 m above sea level, the city was colonized in the early 20th century by German and Ital ...
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and lived in the city until the age of 17, when he finished high school. During his youth, Ouriques was active in the student movement against the
military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer.
The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
. Ouriques holds a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in economics from the
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
(UNAM) and a post-doctorate degree from the
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...
. Much of Ouriques' work focuses on the relationship between
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
, as well as the Marxist theory of dependence more generally.
Political activity and views
Ouriques, who was a member of the left-wing Workers' Party (PT) for two decades, left the party, citing his displeasure with what he referred to as the "''petucan'' system" (a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordstucano'', a member of the centre-right
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party ( pt, Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a political party in Brazil
Brazil has a multi-pa ...
, or PSDB). According to Ouriques, though the PT was born out of "workers' protest against the dictatorship", the party had succumbed to the "bourgeois order" in power. Ouriques criticized
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
for not working closely enough with President
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
to create an
anti-imperialist
Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...
"cohesive
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
bloc" during his presidency.
Ouriques is a staunch critic of the presidency of
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
, arguing that Brazil's foreign policy had become that of a
banana republic
In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...
under his rule. He has argued that the PT and the "liberal left" are unequipped to face the threats posed by Bolsonaro's rule. Ouriques has compared Bolsonaro to
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
, the
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
dictator of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
from 1974 to 1990. Additionally, Ouriques has argued that the Bolsonaro Administration has destroyed Brazil's status as an
emerging power
An emerging power or rising power is a state or union of states with significant rising influence in global affairs. Such a power aspires to have a more powerful position or role in international relations, either regionally or globally, and ...
, and has relegated the country to being a proxy for
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
interests in the region.
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Hamilton Mourão
Antônio Hamilton Martins Mourão (; born 15 August 1953) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer serving as the 25th vice president of Brazil. He has served as vice president under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro since 1 Januar ...
, a retired general in the Brazilian Army, has been the regular subject of criticism from Ouriques. Ouriques has said that Mourão is effectively "a man from the United States" who is fully "in tune with the United States' hemispheric security doctrine". Ouriques argues that Mourão's relative restraint in public settings compared to the more bombastic Bolsonaro makes him more dangerous than the President he serves under.
As a native of the southern state of Santa Catarina, Ouriques has spoken about the legacy of European immigration and the ''latifúndio'' system on current right-wing voting patterns in the region. Ouriques is active in the local PSOL branch in Santa Catarina, joining their launch rally for party candidates running in the 2018 election cycle.
2018 presidential campaign
In the
2018 Brazilian presidential election
General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the president, National Congress and state governors. As no candidate in the presidential election received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff round was held ...
, Ouriques attempted to run for president as a member of the
Socialism and Liberty Party
The Socialism and Liberty Party ( pt-BR, Partido Socialismo e Liberdade , PSOL ) is a left-wing political party in Brazil. The party describes itself as socialist and democratic.
The party leader is Juliano Medeiros and the federal deputies I ...
(PSOL). However, he lost the party's nomination to labor leader Guilherme Boulos. Ouriques accused PSOL leadership of unfair favoritism towards Boulos.
Selected works
* ''O colapso do figurino francês: crítica às ciências sociais no Brasil'' ("The Collapse of the French Costume Design: Critique of Social Sciences in Brazil") - 2014
* ''Dependência e Marxismo: Contribuições ao Debate Crítico Latino-Americano'' ("Dependency and Marxism: Contributions to the Latin American Critical Debate") - 2016
* ''Crítica à razão acadêmica: reflexão sobre a universidade contemporânea'' ("Critique of Academic Reason: Reflection on the Contemporary University") - 2017