José Dirceu
José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva was born on March 16, 1946. He is married and has three children. With a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (PUC-SP), he served as state deputy from 1987 to 1991 (SP-PT) and federal deputy from 1991 to 1995 (SP-PT) and, again, from 1999 to 2003 (SP-PT).
Dirceu held numerous posts in the Workers Party (PT), including the presidency of the National Executive between 1995 and 1997. In 1989 he coordinated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's first presidential campaign for the party.
He exercised various parliamentary activities in municipal councils, state legislative assemblies, and the legislative chamber of the Federal District. Among them, he was a member of the Finance and Budget Commission and vice-president of the Public Safety Commission.
Dirceu began his militancy ingressing in the "Alla Marighella" (would become the ALN, later) in 1966, a revolutionary armed group linked to the Brazilian Communist Party. In 1968 Dirceu, who was known as "Daniel", was the leader of the State Union of Students or UEE.
In consequence of his militancy in the student movement, Dirceu was arrested in October 12, 1968, during the 30th Congress of the National Student Union (UNE), in Ibiúna.
In 1969 the Marxist revolutionary groups called MR8 and ALN abducted the US ambassador to Brazil Charles Burke Elbrick. The revolutionaries demanded the liberation of a list of prisioners, among them was José Dirceu. This incident is the basis of the film Four Days in September.
While in exile, Dirceu worked, got military training and studied in Cuba. According to him, he changed his appearance after a plastic cirurgy in Cuba. Dirceu returned to Brazil in 1975 with the false name of "Carlos Henrique Gouveia de Mello". He married with his first wife and lived in Paraná in total secret (even for his wife, who didn't know his true identity) until 1979 when he returned to Cuba.
He returned again to Brazil in 1980, when amnesty was instituted. Separated from his first wife, he married again, now to the psychologist Ângela Saragosa. He assumed his real identity.
He played an active role in the movement to amnesty those tried and convinced for political activities and in the coordination of the Direct Elections Now campaign in 1984 on behalf of direct presidential elections. As state deputy, he gained recognition for monitoring the government of the state of Sao Paulo.
It's not hard to understand why Lula's Chief of Staff, José Dirceu, got emotional and cried when hugged by Fidel Castro. Dirceu was the president of UNE (União Nacional dos Estudantes—National Union of Students) on October 1968, when he was imprisoned by the military government with other student leaders while trying to clandestinely hold the 30th UNE Congress.
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