Dirceu, as president of Brazil’s Workers Party (PT), moderated his political philosophy–and he helped push the party and Luiz Inacio (Lula) da Silva, a peasant’s son and trade unionist, to do the same. The ideological turnabout played a huge role in Lula’s presidential-election victory. Dirceu not only managed Lula’s campaign but forged an unlikely coalition that united capitalists and communists alike. When Lula is sworn into office on Jan. 1, Dirceu will become the second most powerful man in Brazil. But no one calls him No. 2. The PT boasts many able leaders, starting with Antonio Palocci, a mild-mannered former mayor who heads Lula’s transition team and has won kudos for his levelheaded economic views. Dirceu, who is called Ze by his lefty companheiros, will be the new administration’s power broker. “Ze Dirceu is Lula’s strongman,” says Mailson da Nobrega, a financial analyst and former Brazilian Finance minister. “He’s like Rasputin, but with charm.”
Lula has not yet made any key personnel decisions, but Dirceu will certainly hold a top job. He’s been mentioned for Justice minister or party whip in Congress, but odds are he’ll be named political coordinator. Although the title is modest, the job traditionally has been held by wily eminences grises who loom large in palace politics. In fact, Dirceu is at his best behind the scenes, relentlessly working the trenches of Congress, So Paulo boardrooms and Brasilia’s famous restaurant row, where deals are cut by candlelight.
Dirceu, 56, grew up in Passa Quatro, a pokey town in the landlocked state of Minas Gerais, known for its natural-spring water. Although he moved to So Paulo at 14 and later studied law at the cosmopolitan Catholic University in that city, Dirceu retains a thick country drawl. But his easy manner can be deceiving. Dirceu has a quick temper and rules the party with an iron fist. Some PT rank and file bristle at his brusque style, but Dirceu is expected to bring a much-needed dose of discipline to Brasilia’s famously unruly political class.
Dirceu’s personal history is the stuff of movies. By 1974 he’d had enough of exile, but needed a cover to return to Brazil. So he got a face-lift, changed his name and slipped back into the country. He married a local belle, had a son and opened a men’s clothing store in Curzeiro do Oeste, a town in southern Brazil. He never talked politics. Then, in 1979, Brasilia declared a general amnesty for those exiled during the dictatorship, and Dirceu came out of hiding. He went back to Cuba to have his face restored, then, after confessing his true identity to his stunned wife and child, packed up and moved to So Paulo, where he helped found the PT.
Back in action, Dirceu helped Lula run for president three times on traditional leftist platforms. After three losses, he got Lula’s blessings to launch an aggressive party-reform agenda. He was convinced that without a complete overhaul of the party dogma the PT would never win a national election and exercise broad power. He reached out to business leaders, rival labor unions and political centrists. The gamble worked. Dozens of high-profile business leaders began to climb on the PT bandwagon, chief among them Jose Alencar, a textile tycoon who was Lula’s running mate this year. Now Dirceu will have to be Lula’s field marshal: he must drum up the political support to allow the president to honor commitments to control inflation and keep spending down, and at the same time rein in the demands of the fractious coalition that supported him on the promise of good times ahead. When Lula makes his first trip to the White House on Dec. 10, Dirceu will be at his side. Their journey together is just beginning.
