This essay intends to present the interpretations developed by Joaquim Nabuco concerning Brazilian social and political life in the end of the XIX century. At the same time the work emphasizes one particular aspect, i. e., that his analysis was in opposition to the current way Brazil was normally described, and in this sense Nabuco proposed a global project of reform of the Brazilian State and the society. We tried, as well, to point out the originality and the comprehensive features of his diagnosis.
