Former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso is going to speak tonight (Oct. 3rd, 2007) at Brown University. The event will be broadcast live over the web, and archived, so if you miss it tonight, come back to this post and click through. Vale a pena com certeza!

I had the chance to see one such panel with Cardoso, and it was simply amazing. An accomplished sociologist who served as the Minister of Finance before being elected President, Cardoso is a brilliant, didactic fellow who passionately and naturally backs up his points with accurate data. Seeing him speak is certainly an experience, and you may learn more about Brazil in ten minutes than in months of independent study.

The title of the lecture is Inequality in Latin America, a deep, fascinating and controversial subject. Such a topic promises discussion of education, race, crime, economics and political corruption. Joining Cardoso will be former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar, which explains the event’s sub-heading A Presidential Dialogue.

I’m sad not to make it down to Providence for this event, but laud the Watson Institute‘s initiative to make this material available over the web, both live and as an archive. Parabens galera da Brown… que saudade!