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warrior Millán announced today that she will file a criminal complaint against Portuguese sociologist Boaventura Sousa Santos and asked for support in doing so. She made the announcement this afternoon during an exclusive interview with the indigenous news agency Telúrica and the Movement of Indigenous Women and Diversities for Good Living.

“I am determined to file a criminal complaint against him,” Millán said in an Instagram Live video posted on the account @mmujeresindigenas . She emphasized, “This is my truth.”

The interview took place amid a series of accusations against the renowned left-wing intellectual and Yale University PhD in Sociology. Among those making the accusations are three Portuguese researchers from the University of Coimbra (Lieselotte Viaene, Catarina Laranjeiro, and Miye Nadya) and Brazilian congresswoman Bella Gonçalves. 

"I felt it was very necessary to support the statements of these women by giving my personal account, which is true," Moira said during the interview.

In response to the allegations, on April 13, the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) announced on its social media the suspension of Sousa Santos's activities at the institution. Two days later, the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal also announced a temporary suspension.

The weychafe chose to give very few interviews to the media. Today she sought to do so in a space where she feels protected: the Telúrica Movement and Agency, managed by Indigenous women and diverse groups. "I wanted a loving, respectful space to be able to talk about the issue and address its multiple facets, so that it doesn't become just part of the show or entertainment," she said.

The complaint against Sousa Santos

The events Millán denounces occurred in 2010 when she traveled to Portugal after being invited to a discussion at the Lusófona University by a group of Argentinians living in Lisbon. Upon learning of this, Boaventura Sousa Santos, who had met Millán at the World Forum in Brazil, invited her to give a lecture to students at the University of Coimbra. The abuse took place during her stay in Portugal, the woman recounted. 

"It's not just sexual abuse, it's systemic, cultural and spiritual abuse of my person, abuse in the face of the vulnerable situation in which I found myself," Moira explained during the live broadcast where she was interviewed by Irma Caupan Perriot of the Movement of Indigenous Women and Diversities for Good Living and Sebastián Molina of the Telúrica Agency. 

In addition to the abusive situations she described in an interview with El Salto , the activist recalled that at that time she felt "kidnapped. I couldn't leave unless he gave me my ticket. I had no contact with the rest of the team."

"This is not a coincidence, it is premeditated, it is something that he had surely been planning," he added.

Millán raised the difficulty of finding people who witnessed what he experienced. "The only witnesses I have are the students who attended my seminar. I need them to confirm that I was there giving that lecture," he said. 

“When it happened in 2010, I sought support and help, but I didn’t find it. That help hasn’t come today either,” she emphasized. In this regard, she asked that anyone who can help her with tools, devices, and information to support her legal process.

The academy's response

He believed the University of Coimbra was also responsible for what happened because no one from that institution was "intervening in the situation." For that reason, Millán reported that he wants to file a complaint against the university. "I didn't even receive certification that I was giving that seminar," he complained.

Regarding this, Moira highlighted the situation faced by Indigenous people when invited by academic professionals to share their knowledge. "They are never offered a responsible institutional relationship if they are not academics," Millán stated. She added, "They are not offered remuneration, insurance, or any security measures."

"Is it valid when the entire research process has been carried out on the basis of oppression, extractivism, and contempt for those who provided information?" Moira asked.

However, he also acknowledged that "there is another group of people who are questioning this, who are deciding that these practices must be dismantled." He added, "We are moving forward with this group of workers."

Regarding sexual abuse, the activist acknowledged that it is always painful, regardless of who commits it, whether it's "someone from the left, the right, or someone from my own community." "We deserve respect, to be cared for, loved, protected, and honored. Our bodies are sacred ," she emphasized. "I don't care if the perpetrator is the Mapuche leader, the leader of a leftist group, or the most famous academic in the world. Anyone who commits abuse is a criminal."

The real rift

Agencia Presentes participated in the discussion by submitting some questions. One of them was how she analyzes the media coverage of her case. "It was horrible," she replied. She explained that statements she made were taken out of context and that her experience was emphasized in a "morbid" way. She stressed that "the analysis must be structural and very careful with the victim."

Furthermore, she recounted that after making her complaint public, she received numerous threats. "I had to endure a very high level of aggression on social media," she said. She also emphasized that she is not surprised by the "resurgence of neo-Nazism in Europe."

Finally, Millán reiterated the need for support in accessing justice. “My pain and my demand for justice are just as audible as they are for young, white academics,” she asserted. “Cancel culture has always existed against Indigenous peoples. What is happening with Boaventura Santos is justice, not cancellation,” she stated. Earlier in the interview, she had clarified: “The real divide is between subordination and power.”