Boaventura resigns. He says he was threatened

Sociologist accused of harassment leaves CES, denouncing “the bad arts of management” and threats in recent days.

The sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos announced this Tuesday that he resigned as director emeritus of the Center for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra (UC), of which he is a founding partner.

“Today I took the most complicated step of my entire career, but I take it firmly and with the conviction that it is right: today I submit my resignation as associate and director emeritus of the Center for Social Studies, which I founded. Far from being a defeat, I see it as a liberationbecause bad driving skills can have an irreparable effect”, he said.

In a statement sent to the Lusa agency, the investigator stated that he had been the subject, for 18 months, of a harsh process of unfounded accusations against his good professional work.

“Since the beginning of this egregious case against me, it has become increasingly clear that it was orchestrated by CES management and that its only objective is political. From the direction of the CES, there was a clear predetermination of all actions aimed at exoneration of any malpractice at the center and placing responsibility on the founder, that is, on me”, he claimed.

14 people reported

Three researchers who passed through the Center for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra harassment situations in a chapter of the book entitled “Sexual Misconduct in Academia – For an Ethics of Care at the University”, which led researchers Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Bruno Sena Martins to resign from all positions they held at CES, in April 2023.

The CES ended up creating, a few months later, an independent commission to investigate the allegations, having released its report almost a year later, on March 13, 2024, which confirmed the existence of pstandards of conduct of abuse of power and harassmentby people in hierarchically superior positions, without specifying names.

According to the report released at the time, the independent commission 14 people were reportedby 32 complainants, in a total of 78 complaints.

The investigator announced, at the end of September, that he filed a personal protection petition at the Coimbra Court, with which he seeks to ensure the protection of his good name and honor, in the face of accusations from the group of women. The trial began this month.

Sociologist says he was threatened

Boaventura de Sousa Santos assured that, from the first minute, he always tried to collaborate with the clarification processes, trying to “avoid media circuses” and make this a “fair process for all parties”.

“For this, it is essential to know what I am accused of, which is why I requested access to the relevant documentation so that I can exercise my due defense, by all possible means. Not only did CES management lie about my position, they repeatedly denied me access to any documentation that would allow me to understand, once and for all, what is being accused of me and what I have to defend myself against”.

In the note sent to Lusa, the sociologist he also says that he has received, in recent days, “threats that are unacceptable and that led to this outcome.”

“What should be a fair process, in which a person subject to accusations receives concrete information that they can verify, has turned into an inquisitorial process,” he added.

Boaventura also alluded to the result of the commission of inquiry, which he says did not determine any direct responsibility for himself, but which led the CES management to initiate “a persecution”, through a “dubious private investigation initiative entrusted to lawyers, without any guarantees, without allowing access to existing evidence or data and applying techniques contrary to the rule of law and typical of the enemy’s criminal law”.

For Boaventura, the investigation “overlapped in a partial, self-serving and arbitrary way” with the criminal and civil investigations initiated, without being given the possibility of defense.

“This situation could lead to obvious criminal and civil liabilities on the part of CES management and the private investigators themselves, which must be taken to court immediately,” he concluded.