Plínio de Arruda Sampaio Jr., sometimes simply referred to as Plininho, is a Brazilian economist, academic, and political figure. He is a retired professor of economics at the

University of Campinas The State University of Campinas ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unicamp is consistently ranked among the top universities in Brazil and Latin ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, one of the top-ranked universities in Brazil and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. During his career, Arruda Sampaio Jr.'s work primarily focused on the

economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...

of Brazil,

developmentalism Developmentalism is an economic theory which states that the best way for less developed economies to develop is through fostering a strong and varied internal market and imposing high tariffs on imported goods. Developmentalism is a cross-discip ...

, and

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

. He has also served on the editorial board of

Brasil de Fato ''Brasil de Fato'' ( en, Brazil de facto) is a Brazilian online newspaper and a radio agency, in addition to having regional newspapers in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and Pernambuco. Launched on January 25, 2003, on the W ...

, a left-wing publication. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, he attempted to run for

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

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), but was rejected during the nomination process in favor of labor leader

Guilherme Boulos Guilherme Castro Boulos (born 19 June 1982) is a Brazilian politician, Activism, activist and writer. He is a member of the National Coordination of Homeless Workers' Movement (MTST). Boulos joined the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) in 2018, ...

Life and academic career

Arruda Sampaio Jr. was born to prolific politician

Plínio de Arruda Sampaio Plínio Soares de Arruda Sampaio (26 July 1930 – 8 July 2014) was a Brazilian intellectual and political activist, who was affiliated with the Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL). He ran as a candidate for the presidency of the Federative ...

, who was involved in politics for almost six decades. Arruda Sampaio Jr. attended the

School of Economics, Business and Accounting of the University of São Paulo The School of Economics, Business and Accounting, also known as FEA-USP, is one of the departments of the University of São Paulo, a notable public university in the São Paulo, Brazil. Founded in 1946, it is known as one of the most prestigious ...

(FEA-USP), where he completed his undergraduate education. Arruda Sampaio Jr. would go on to obtain a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and a doctorate in

applied economics Applied economics is the study as regards the application of economic theory and econometrics in specific settings. As one of the two sets of fields of economics (the other set being the ''core''), it is typically characterized by the application ...

from the

. As an economist, Sampaio has been critical of "left-developmentalism", arguing that "its origin subordinated to the business logic of international capital" and is thus incompatible with

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Brazil on 25 February 2020, when a man from São Paulo who had traveled to Italy tested positive for the virus. ...

, Arruda Sampaio Jr. advocated for

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

measures coupled with economic relief to stop the spread of the virus.

Political career

Early political career

Plínio de Arruda Sampaio Jr. ran for municipal office in

in 2004 as a member of the Workers' Party (PT). He sought the office of

Mayor of São Paulo In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, losing the PT nomination to

Marta Suplicy Marta Teresa Smith de Vasconcellos Suplicy (; born 18 March 1945) is a Brazilian politician and psychologist. She was Mayor of São Paulo from 2001 to 2004. She later served as the Brazilian Minister of Tourism between 14 March 2007, and 4 Jun ...

. His left-wing allies alleged unfair favoritism towards Suplicy during the nomination contest. Arruda Sampaio Jr. would later leave the PT altogether, decrying what he described as the "ultra-conservative character of the Lula government". Unlike many on the left, Arruda Sampaio Jr. did not consider the

impeachment of Dilma Rousseff The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the 36th president of Brazil, began on 2 December 2015 with a petition for her impeachment being accepted by Eduardo Cunha, then president of the Chamber of Deputies, and continued into late 2016. Dilma Rousse ...

to be a "coup", arguing that

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...

's presidency was merely an extension of Dilma's.

2018 presidential candidacy

In the 2018 presidential election, Arruda Sampaio Jr. entered the race, hoping to be the nominee of the

(PSOL). Arruda Sampaio Jr. argued that PSOL needed to distance itself from the embattled PT and chart its own course as a party of the left. Labor leader

, who eventually received the party's nomination, was seen by Arruda Sampaio Jr. as being too close to former President

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, ...

. At the party convention, Arruda Sampaio Jr. received 27 votes in favor of his nomination, compared to the 87 received by Boulos and the 7 votes received by former

CUT Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (e ...

official

Hamilton Assis Hamilton Moreira de Assis (born January 19, 1963), known as Hamilton Assis, is a Brazilian labor leader, left-wing activist, teacher, and politician from Salvador, Bahia. A former director of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) in Bahia, he ...

Selected works

* ''Entre a nação e a barbárie: os dilemas do capitalismo dependente'' ("Between the nation and barbarism: the dilemmas of dependent capitalism") - 1990 * ''Capitalismo em crise: a natureza e dinâmica da crise econômica mundial'' ("Capitalism in Crisis: the nature and dynamics of the world economic crisis") - 2009

References

{{reflist Brazilian anti-capitalists Brazilian economists Brazilian socialists Brazilian politicians Brazilian writers Year of birth missing (living people) Academic staff of the State University of Campinas Living people Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians Socialism and Liberty Party politicians