Marcos Arruda has a degree in Economics, Doctorate in Economics and Education. He is coordinator of PACS (Institute of Alternative Policies for the Southern Cone), and one of the founders of the World Social Forum and the Global Solidarity Socio-Economy Network. It is a founding member of the Institute Cajamar and participates in coordinating the Jubilee South movement, which promoted the Plebiscite on Debt and the FTAA.