Florestan Fernandes

Florestan Fernandes was a Brazilian sociologist and politician, born on 22 July 1920 into a poor family, who worked a series of odd jobs and had an interrupted education before entering the University of Sao Paulo in 1941. He graduated in 1945 and became a full professor of sociology there by 1964, the same year he won the Premio Jabuti. In 1969 he fled to Canada for political reasons and taught at the University of Toronto, returning to Brazil in 1986, where he joined the Partido dos Trabalhadores and was twice elected federal deputy. He died on 10 August 1995.