José Aldo Rebelo Figueiredo (born in Viçosa

Viçosa, Alagoas

Viçosa is a Brazilian town and municipality in Alagoas state. Located inland on the zone of a former portion of the Atlantic Rain Forest, it is 86 km away from the state capital Maceio. Its population was 27,950 and its area is 354,76 km²....

 on 23 February 1956) is a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian politician, member of the Communist Party of Brazil

Communist Party of Brazil

The Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and students movements. PCdoB dispute with the Brazilian Communist Party the title of "oldest political party in Brazil"...

 and a federal deputy elected by the state of São Paulo

São Paulo (state)

São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil

Chamber of Deputies of Brazil

The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. As of 2006, the chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms...

 from 2005 to 2007.

With President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...

 in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and Vice President José Alencar

José Alencar

José Alencar Gomes da Silva , also known as José Alencar, the Strong, was a Brazilian businessman and politician, and the Vice President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010. In business since a young age, Alencar was a self-made multimillionaire, as the chief executive of Coteminas, after working as...

 undergoing medical tests in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Rebelo became the first communist

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 to assume the duties of acting president of Brazil

President of Brazil

The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...

 on November 12, 2006. His brief period in office lapsed the next day upon Lula's return.

He is the main author of a project to change Brazil's controversial Forest Code

Brazilian Forest Code

The Brazilian Forest Code is a piece of legislation passed in 1965. There has been controversy over the code, mostly centered around legal requirement for landowners in Brazil to maintain 80% of forests as legal reserves...

introduced in the 1960s. As is, the code that makes mandatory that rural land owners keep 80% of their own land as sanctuaries could lead to a situation where millions of farmers would be penalized with criminal charges and loss of land. Environmentalist NGOs claim that, if passed, the new Forest Code will allow the Amazon Forest to be further cut down, given that land owners would be free to use their land as they see fit.

External links

• http://www.abin.gov.br/seminario/curr_rebelo.htm - Résumé