José Dirceu

José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva (born March 16, 1946) is a former Brazilian politician. His political rights were suspended by the Brazilian House of Representatives and he was found guilty by the Brazilian Supreme Court of active corruption and conspiracy in two separate lawsuits.

He participated in an armed revolutionary group after the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, and was exiled in 1969. He returned in 1980 and was politically active, culminating in a post as chief-of-staff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration from 2003 until his resignation due to corruption charges.

Early life

Dirceu moved to São Paulo in 1961 and in 1966 joined the Ala Marighella, later called the ALN, a revolutionary armed group linked to the Brazilian Communist Party. In 1968 Dirceu, known as "Daniel", was the leader of the State Union of Students (UEE). As a consequence, Dirceu was arrested on October 12, 1968, during the 30th Congress of the National Student Union (UNE), in Ibiúna.

In 1969 Marxist revolutionary groups MR8 and ALN abducted the US ambassador to Brazil, Charles Burke Elbrick. The revolutionaries demanded the liberation of fifteen prisoners, including José Dirceu. This incident is the basis of the film Four Days in September.

After that he travelled to Cuba. While in exile, Dirceu worked, received military training and studied on the island. According to him, he changed his appearance through plastic surgery. Dirceu returned to Brazil in 1975 under the false name of "Carlos Henrique Gouveia de Mello". He married his first wife and lived in Paraná in total secrecy, with his true identity unknown even to his wife, until 1979, when he returned to Cuba.