The article explores the legacy of Joaquim Nabuco and suggests that his political, diplomatic and intellectual involvement with the questions of his time has something to say about the dilemmas we face today as a society, in our established Republic - above all, about the way Brazilian society has implemented (or has failed to implement) the needed social reforms and has sought to build a society that is able to integrate all of its citizens.
Joaquim Nabuco; social reform; inequality; contemporary Brazil