Doyen of ‘Dependency Theory’

Theotonio dos Santos (1936–2018), who passed away on 27 February in Rio de Janeiro, has been one of the major proponents of dependecia or dependency theory, along with Andre Gunder Frank, Giovanni Arrighi, Samir Amin and, to some extent, Immanuel M Wallerstein. Continuing to provide inspiration to large sections of people, including social scientists and activists in different parts of the world, dependency theory has been important for those interpreting the growing disparities between the advanced and the developing world.

Santos had a particularly marked presence in Latin America, both through his writings and in his active involvement in political struggles against authoritarian rule. Exiled from his homeland, Brazil, because of his opposition to authoritarian rule during the late 1960s, Santos went to Chile where he developed his new theoretical ideas while assuming a militant role in the socialist party of Chile. At the same time, he continued to be involved in activities of the revolutionary organisations in Brazil. With Augusto Pinochet’s military coup in 1973, Santos was expelled from Chile. His next exile in Mexico, from 1974, led to the publication of Imperialism and Dependency (1980). The book addresses the sociopolitical and socio-economic history of developing countries from the point of view of the dependency theory, particularly in the context of the Brazilian crisis of developmentalism.