Marco Aurélio Garcia


Marco Aurélio Garcia was a Brazilian politician, as a member of the Workers' Party. He was a Professor of Latin American History on leave from UNICAMP University and a left idealist. He was previously professor at the Latin American Social Science Faculty of the University of Chile and of the Paris-VIII and Paris-X universities.

Biography

He studied at Júlio de Castilhos High School, where he was active in the left student movement. He was graduated by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in philosophy and law. In the 60s, he was vice-president of the National Student Union and Porto Alegre city councilman. He is also known by his acronym MAG.
From 1970 to 1979 he was self-exiled in Chile and France. After the amnesty law was approved, he returned to Brazil and was one of those who helped establish the Workers Party. In 1990, Foreign Affairs Secretary of the PT, he was one of the organizers of the São Paulo Forum, which brings together all the left groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. He was Culture Secretary for both the cities of São Paulo and Campinas.
He coordinated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's election platform or program for the 1994, 1998 and 2006 elections. He served as interim party president from 6 October 2006 to 2 January 2007 and as vice-president from October 2005 to February 2010. In 2007, he became a special foreign policy adviser to President Lula and has continued in this position with President Dilma.

Contributions to Foreign Affairs

He participated in developing Brazil's foreign strategy of diversifying partners post-Cold War, as well as strengthening ties with Latin American, African and Middle Eastern countries.