Doctor José Alves de Souza Neto is a dental surgeon and was the founder and first president of the Uniodonto Athenas Paulista Cooperative in 1994. He was vice president for administration and finance of the Paulista Federation of Uniodontos from 2001 to 2004 and successively president of the same Federation until 2007. He has an MBA in health management from the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Brazil and an executive course in negotiation from the Irvine University of California, United States. He is currently president of Uniodonto de Atenas Paulista, member of the supervisory board of OCESP (Organization of Cooperatives of the State of São Paulo), coordinator of the health sector of the OCB – Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives and, finally, he is president of Uniodonto do Brasil. Since September 2024, he has been the president of Cooperatives of the Americas, a regional office of the International Cooperative Alliance.
Tell us about yourself – how did you first hear about cooperatives?
I’d heard people talking about co-operatives since I was a child, but my first direct experience of the co-operative movement didn’t come until I was 34. At that time, a group of my friends who were dental surgeons and I became curious about a system of dental co-operatives called Uniodonto.
We set out to find out more, tried to understand how that model worked, and realised that we could build something similar in our region. So, on 11 November 1994, we founded Uniodonto de Jaboticabal – now known as Uniodonto Athenas Paulista – which started with 64 dental surgeons.
That is how my journey in the world of co-operatives began. First out of curiosity, then through active involvement, and finally through the realisation that this model could transform not only our professional practice but also the community in which we lived.
What was your route from your early career to president Cooperatives of the Americas?
My career began precisely at the co-operative we helped to set up, where I served as its first president. Over the years, I took on other responsibilities within the Uniodonto System and also in various bodies within the Brazilian co-operative movement.
I served on the board of directors of the Federation of Uniodonto Cooperatives of the State of São Paulo, was vice-president for administration and finance, and later its president. Subsequently, I took on the presidency of Uniodonto de Brasil, a role I continue to hold today.
At the same time, I had the opportunity to participate in other organisations within the Brazilian co-operative movement, such as Sescoop São Paulo, OCESP and OCB.
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My involvement with the International Co-operative Alliance came about at the encouragement of a great friend and co-operative activist, Américo Utumi, who sadly is no longer with us. Subsequently, I went on to represent Brazil on the board of directors of Cooperatives of the Americas. In 2022, I was invited by my dear friend Graciela Fernández to serve as first vice-president during her second term. In September 2024, as Graciela needed to step down from the presidency for personal reasons, I was appointed president of Cooperatives of the Americas.
Looking back, I see a journey built up step by step. When we founded that small co-operative in 1994, I never imagined that one day I would be responsible for leading the co-operative movement across an entire continent.
How has your experience in health co-operatives shaped your approach to leading a much broader multi-sector body?
I would break this experience down into two points. The first is that I work in a highly regulated and scrutinised sector, which demands a very high level of organisation, management, accountability and adaptability.
But perhaps the second point is even more important. I am at the helm of a system comprising 115 co-operatives, present in every Brazilian state, which brings together more than 22,000 co-operative dentists and serves more than 3.5 million people.
Maintaining unity among co-operatives operating in regions with such different structures, cultures and needs is a challenge very similar to the one we face at Cooperatives of the Americas.
Our continent is extremely diverse. We have countries and regions with very different economic and social realities. Everyone needs to be listened to, respected and supported. The challenge is enormous, but the cooperative movement offers us precisely the tools we need to build collective solutions and transform our region into a better place for everyone.
What does it mean for the movement that Panama, a relatively small co-operative sector, is hosting the joint ICA/Americas Assemblies and global conference?
For me, this demonstrates very clearly the breadth of the co-operative vision. We are a movement made up of co-operatives from different sectors, of different sizes, from different countries and with different circumstances, but they all deserve to be heard and respected.
The fact that Panama is not among the world’s largest co-operative movements is no obstacle. Quite the contrary. Choosing it to host an event of this scale demonstrates, in practice, what we stand for.
The co-operative movement understands differences, coexists with them and makes room for them. We cannot talk about democratic participation and inclusion only when it suits us. We need to practise them within our own movement.
This is a fundamental part of our DNA: recognising the importance of everyone, regardless of their size.
Panama was chosen partly for its symbolism as a literal bridge between hemispheres. What does that theme mean to you in practical terms for the co-operative movement?
The imagery is very objective and, at the same time, very beautiful. The Bridge of the Americas spans the Panama Canal and physically re-establishes a connection that the canal interrupts. For me, this image captures very well what the co-operative movement does.
The co-operative movement builds bridges between people, communities, organisations and capital. We build bridges when we transform vulnerability into opportunity, when we meet needs that the market or the state have failed to address and, above all, when we promote economic and social inclusion.
Building bridges means bringing together what was once separated. It means enabling people who were on the margins of society to have access to work, income, dignity and prospects for the future.
Perhaps this is precisely one of the best definitions of what we do every day as co-operators: we build bridges.
Can you point to a concrete example, from the Americas or elsewhere, where a co-operative has visibly contributed to peace-building or social reconciliation?
We have several examples, but I am particularly interested in the experience of Colombia, where the co-operative movement has played a part in the economic and social reconstruction of communities affected by decades of conflict.
This also helps us to broaden our own concept of peace. Peace does not simply mean the absence of war. Peace also means having work, an income, opportunities, dignity and prospects for the future.
Related: No peace without economic resilience – why the CM50 is so important
When a co-operative brings people together, creates economic opportunities and enables them to make decisions together and build their future together, we are rebuilding something fundamental: trust.
And I firmly believe that there can be no lasting peace without trust, inclusion and opportunities.
How do you see the ICA 2026–2030 Strategy’s three pillars — Practice, Promote, Protect — playing out differently across the Americas?
In the Americas, we face extremely diverse economic, political and social realities. For this reason, Practise, Promote and Protect need to take on a concrete meaning within each of these realities.
Practising means demonstrating every day, through our own co-operatives, that our principles and values work. Promoting means ensuring that more people know about, understand and choose the co-operative movement, especially the younger generations. And protecting means guaranteeing legal and regulatory environments that recognise our identity and allow co-operatives to develop without being forced to become something they are not.
The three pillars are inseparable. We cannot protect what we do not promote, and we cannot promote what we do not genuinely practise.
What message do you most want delegates to take home from Panama?
I would like every delegate to return home understanding that ‘Building Bridges’ is not just the theme of a conference. It is a responsibility we all share.
We need to build bridges between co-operatives, between different sectors, between countries, between generations and, above all, between people.
We are living in a time when many forces seem to be working to divide us. The co-operative movement needs to do exactly the opposite: bring us closer together.
If every person leaves Panama ready to build a new bridge when they return to their co-operative, their community or their country, we will have achieved much more than just a great conference. We will have started a movement.
Panama must be the place where we talk about bridges. The world needs to be the place where we build them.
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