Debora Cruz (MA Social Justice Studies 2023) launches first book.

Debora Cruz (HBASc'21, MA'23) returned home to Portugal in July to launch her first book,  "Defensor, o Estratega Contra a Resignação” ("Defensor, the Strategist against the Status Quo”). 

Cruz, a journalist in Portugal before emigrating to Canada, covered the rise and tenure of Oliveira Moura, a doctor and four-term mayor in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Moura’s people-centred time as mayor aligns with Cruz’s values and MA in Social Justice Studies she earned from the Orillia campus. 

Moura was the first politician since the end of the dictatorship in Portugal (1974) to win election in Viana do Castelo as an independent running with the support of the center-left of the political spectrum.

After accomplishing his dream of becoming a doctor in his hometown, he adopted social medicine as a tool to improve the well-being of its people and decided to run for mayor. He went on to win the local elections for 4 consecutive terms and transformed the city over 16 years in office. 

In 2025, celebrating his 80th birthday, he describes in the book his life fighting against the status quo, recalling with Cruz some of the battles they both lived and witnessed from different perspectives: the politician and the journalist. Family, friends, and adversaries provided contributions with their testimonies as well.

The book launch in Viana do Castelo on July 18th was very well attended; a week later, the book became available online and in different Portuguese bookstores.

https://www.atlanticbookshop.pt/nao-ficcao/defensor-o-estratega-contra-a-resignacao