Luiz Gushiken
| Luiz Gushiken | |
|---|---|
Luiz Gushiken
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| Minister of Communications of Brazil | |
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In office January 2003 – March 2005 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 27, 1950 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Died | September 13, 2013 (aged 63) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Political party | Workers' Party (Brazil) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Gushiken |
| Profession | Politician, activist |
Luiz Gushiken (August 5, 1950 – September 13, 2013) was a Brazilian union leader and politician. He was formerly the head of the social communication office of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration, a position which carried a ministerial rank. He is a first-generation Japanese-Brazilian, with Ryukyuan parents from Okinawa.
In his youth he was a supporter of O Trabalho, a party linked to the French Organisation Communiste Internationaliste (OCI). He broke with this international current to work closely with Lula in the PT. He worked at Banespa bank and was associated with unions. He was elected a federal deputy in the Congress three times, from 1987 to 1998, and was the coordinator of the presidential campaigns for Lula in 1989 and 1998.
Luiz Gushiken was born in the small town of Osvaldo Cruz (in Presidente Prudente) and was the first-born son of seven children of the photographer and violinist Shoei and Setsu Gushiken,Japanese immigrants from Okinawa. While he was still a young man, he moved to the city of São Paulo. He lived in the Brás suburb of the city and began to work as a bank clerk at the São Paulo State Bank (Banespa), where he stayed until 1999.
He began his political life as a union leader and participated intensely in the strikes of the 1980s during the military dictatorship. He presided over the Sao Paulo Banker's Union from 1984 to 1986. He was arrested four times by the military regime's Department for Political and Social Order (Departamento de Ordem Polítca e Social or DOPS). He was also one of the founders of the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) and the Unified Worker's Centre (CUT), in addition to being one of its leaders (he was the Workers' party's National President from 1988 to 1990).
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