"It turned out that the versions presented by several complainants and by several accused were, in many situations, incompatible with each other, which made it impracticable to assess the evidence of the evidence" (p. 74).
Personally, today I am calmer than a year ago. I never expected to be absolved of the suspicions that have hovered over me during this time because, in fact, I never had to face concrete accusations of abuse of power or harassment, as the document itself now attests. But he hoped that there would be a clarification that would put an end to the climate of suspicion, something that has not happened and that the CES board of directors has chosen, for the moment, not to guarantee.
As the founder of CES, today I am more worried. In recent months, an Independent Commission has analysed 48 years of the institution's activity, based on 32 complaints. The report focuses on issues such as the abuse of power, which I do not share, not least because I was largely responsible for the decentralisation of power.
The report refers to patterns of behaviour, that is, situations that have been practised over the years, but which have not materialised in time and space, practised by people who held high positions in the hierarchy of the ESC.
In this regard, I would like to remind you that the ESC has a Board of Directors, a Supervisory Board, a General Assembly, an Ethics Committee, a Scientific Council and a Supplier. I haven't been part of any of them since 2010.
The report also notes that while men have stayed in management positions longer, the majority of those positions have been held by women. This may explain why of the 14 people accused, 9 are women. As far as I was concerned, I was not aware of any such situation.
In both the judicial and disciplinary spheres, I hope that the management of the ESC will follow up on any indication of irregularity - as it said it would do - which, according to my assessment of the report and as far as I am concerned, does not exist. I believe that the more than 600 pages that I have attached to the file have contributed to the fact that nothing objective has been concluded against me.
I hope that, despite the limitations that this process has revealed, it will serve as an example for the future. I want to believe that it opens a path of hope for better performance at all levels, both for CES and for all research institutions.
Coimbra, March 13, 2024
Boaventura de Sousa Santos
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