Cristovam Buarque holds a Ph.D. in economics from Université Paris Sorbonne – Paris IV. He worked at the Inter-American Development Bank and is a former rector of the University of Brasilia, former governor of Brasilia (the federal capital of Brazil) and former minister of education (Brazil).

Currently he is a senator in the Brazilian National Congress, a professor at the University of Brasilia and a member of the UNESCO Education Institute. He is the author of several books including The End of Economics, The Gold Curtain, and Abolishing Poverty.