“I’ve never felt the need to be partisan or militant. I prefer to contribute in the field of social movements to the affirmation of citizenship and the transformation of civic consciousness”. Interview with Miguel de Barros, sociologist and activist,

Abstract

Development, local participation, sustainability, the role of women in both urban and, above all, rural environments in Africa and Brazil. Through this interview, Miguel de Barros analyzes the conditions of democratic participation in peripheral communities of the Global South, with a central focus on activism and social justice, which he has always practiced both as the Executive Director of the environmental NGO Tiniguena in Guinea-Bissau and as a sociologist and observer of African and Brazilian realities. The interview particularly highlights the role of local communities in the management and sustainable use of land, outside the utilitarian mechanisms of the neoliberal model, proposing modern and alternative actions and models that are sustainable from both an ecological perspective and in terms of the ability to self-produce essential goods.