Jaguaribe Gomes de Matos, Hélio (1923–)

Hélio Jaguaribe Gomes de Matos (b. 1923), Brazilian political scientist. During the second half of the twentieth century, Jaguaribe distinguished himself as one of Brazil's foremost social scientists whose research interests and publications consistently presented innovative approaches to issues of political and social development in modern Brazil and Latin America. Best known for his studies on the role of political nationalism and social organization in Brazilian modernization, Jaguaribe's works are widely read among Latin Americanists in the Americas and Europe. Some of his most provocative early writings include the controversial O nacionalismo na atualidade brasileira (1958), The Brazilian Structural Crisis (1966), and Economic and Political Development: A Theoretical Approach and a Brazilian Case Study (1968), as well as collaborations with the journal Cadernos de nosso tempo. His later works, including Crise na república (1993) and Brasil: Reforma ou caos (1989), concentrate on the institutional, social, economic, and political problems involved in the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule, particularly in Brazil.

A native of Rio de Janeiro, Jaguaribe received a law degree from the Pontífica Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro (1946) and a doctorate from Mainz University in Germany (1983). After receiving his law degree, Jaguaribe worked as a lawyer, entrepreneur, and industrialist in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. After entering academics in the mid-1950s, Jaguaribe taught extensively in Brazil, serving as a faculty member of the Instituto Superior de Estudos Brasileiros (1956–1959) and the Universidade de São Paulo, and abroad, as visiting professor at Harvard (1964–1966), Stanford (1966–1967), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1968–1969). In the early 1990s, Jaguaribe served as dean of the Instituto de Estudos Políticos e Sociais do Rio de Janeiro.

Between 1994 and 1999, he worked with UNESCO in determining the principle conditions that influence the emergency and development of the main civilizations in history. This work allowed him to write a book titled A Critical Study of History, which was published in 2001.

See alsoBrazil: 1808–1889; Brazil: Since 1889; Nationalism.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Additional Bibliography

Halper, Stefan A., and John R. Sterling, eds. Latin America: The Dynamics of Social Change. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1972.

Jaguaribe, Hélio. Political Development: A General Theory and a Latin American Case Study. New York: Harper & Row, 1973.

Jaguaribe, Hélio, et al. Brasil, sociedade democrática. Rio de Janeiro: Editora José Olímpio, 1985.

Jaguaribe, Hélio, et al. Brasil, reforma ou caos. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Paz e Terra, 1989.

Jaguaribe, Hélio. Sociedade, Estado e partidos políticos na atualidade brasileira. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Paz e Terra, 1992.

Jaguaribe, Hélio. Brasil, homem e mundo-reflexão na virada do século. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 2000.

Jaguaribe, Hélio. Um estudo crítico da história. São Paulo: Editora Paz e Terra, 2001.

Lowenthal, Abraham F., and Gregory F. Treverton, eds. Latin America in a New World. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994.

                                     Daryle Williams