For me, capitalism has never been an abstract concept. It is a real, concrete part of everyday life. When I was a boy, my family left the rural misery of Brazil's north-east and set off for São Paulo. My mother, an extraordinary woman of great courage, uprooted herself and her children and moved to the industrial centre of Brazil in search of a better life. My childhood was no different from that of many boys from poor families: informal jobs; very little formal education. My only diploma was as a machine lathe operator, from a course at the National Service for Industry.
对我来说，资本主义从来就不是一个抽象的概念。它是日常生活中真实而又具体的一部分。当我是一个男孩的时候，我们家离开了巴西东北部的贫困农村，去了圣保罗。我的母亲是一位拥有巨大勇气的非凡女性，带着孩子一起背井离乡，前往巴西的工业中心去寻找更好的生活。我的童年与许多来自贫穷家庭的男孩没有任何的不同：非正式的工作；非常少的正式教育。我唯一的文凭是机床操作员，来自于“国家工业服务”的一个课程。