From the beginning of this whole situation, the CES management had a single objective in mind: to expel Bonaventura, making him a scapegoat responsible for what happened.
Today I have taken the most complex step of my entire career. But I'm taking it firmly and with the conviction that it's the right thing to do. Today I tendered my resignation as Associate and Emeritus Director of the Center for Social Studies, which I founded.
For 18 months now, I have been the subject of a harsh process of unfounded accusations against my good name and professional work. Since the beginning of this process against me, it has become increasingly clear that it has been orchestrated by the CES management and that its sole purpose is political. There was a clear predetermination on the part of the CES management to make me responsible for any irregular actions within the institution.
From the very first minute, I focused all my efforts on collaborating with the processes of clarifying the truth. I didn't hide myself , I did try to avoid media circuses and make this a fair process for all parties. In order to find out what I'm accused of, I requested access to the relevant documentation so that I could exercise my proper defense by any means possible. I was denied all of this. Not only has CES management lied about my position, it has repeatedly denied me access to any documentation that would allow me to understand, once and for all, what I am accused of and what I have to defend myself against. In recent days, I have even received threats that are unacceptable and that have led to this outcome.
Is this what we want? Is this the best way to shed light on events that affect us collectively as a society?
What was supposed to be a fair trial has turned into an inquisitorial process.
When the Commission of Inquiry issued its opinion in which no direct responsibility was determined for my person, the CES management arbitrarily began a persecution through a more than dubious private investigation initiative entrusted to lawyers, without any guarantees of impartiality, without allowing access to evidence or existing data and applying techniques contrary to the rule of law and typical of the criminal law of the enemy, and whose ultimate and main target was and is me.
In addition, the CES investigation overlapped in a partial, self-interested and arbitrary way with the criminal and civil investigations that had been opened, without giving me the possibility of a minimum defense. This situation could lead to clear criminal and civil liability on the part of the CES management and the private investigators themselves, who should be brought to justice immediately.
I have tried to be respectful and cooperative with all the initiatives that have taken place at CES, but it is clear that the hunt against me has taken on unbearable and illegal dimensions, and I cannot go any further. Interfering in the middle of open legal proceedings is nothing short of illegal.
It is up to the justice system, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Coimbra Civil Court to judge the facts, guaranteeing impartiality and without the political contamination caused by internal disputes within CES. I will continue to fight for the truth in these instances.
Coimbra, November 26, 2024
Boaventura de Sousa Santos
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