Francisco Whitaker Ferreira (born 1931), known as Chico Ferreira, is a Brazilian architect, politician, and social activist. A devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, Whitaker inspires his work in the

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". ...

, while maintaining close ties with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, a body linked to the

National Conference of Bishops of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil ( Portuguese: Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil, CNBB) brings together the Catholic Bishops of Brazil, as the Code of Canon Law, "jointly exercise certain pastoral functions on behalf of the fai ...

. Whitaker served as an alderman for the Workers' Party in the

Municipal Chamber of São Paulo The Municipal Chamber of São Paulo is the unicameral legislative body of the city of São Paulo, it was created in 1560 by the Governor General Mem de Sá and is one of the oldest in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative ...

from 1989 to 1993, when he acted as the

majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

for mayor

Luiza Erundina Luiza Erundina de Sousa (; November 30, 1934) is a Brazilian politician, born in Uiraúna, a small city in the interior of the Brazilian state of Paraíba. Political history From 1980 to 1997 she was affiliated with the PT party (Workers’ P ...

. He left the party in 2006, and currently serves on the advisory board of the non-profit organization

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

. He is also a member of the interim consultative committee of the International Organization for a Participatory Society.

Biography

From 1953 to 1954, Whitaker was the chairman of the Catholic University Youth of Brazil, formed by Catholic University students from all over the country. He then served on the strategy group of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

governor , which spanned from 1959 to 1963. He was also head of

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultur ...

planning during the

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...

administration. Following the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, ...

that overthrew Goulart, he joined the opposition movement against the military dictatorship. From 1965 to 1966, he was an advisor of the National Conferences of Bishops of Brazil (''Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil, CNBB'') at the First Joint Pastoral Plan. In 1966, fleeing political persecution in the country, he went into live in exile with his wife and four children. Until his return to Brazil in 1981, Whitaker lived and worked in France and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

as a researcher and advisor for the Catholic Committee Against Hunger, the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, and the

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...

, among other organizations. From 1982 to 1988, he served as an advisor for the Archdiocese of São Paulo and the CNBB. In 1988, he was elected to serve in the

for the Workers' Party. There, he acted as the

majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

for then mayor

. In 2001, Whitaker helped organizing the

World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, pt, Fórum Social Mundial ) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemoni ...

. In 2006, he received the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob ...

, an annual prize given since 1980 to support people who not only dedicate themselves to

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

and the environment, but who live according to those principles. The prize, €220,000 (around $US285,000), is shared among three other winners, and was awarded in December of that same year. During the local elections of 2008, he helped organizing the ''

Ficha Limpa ''Lei da Ficha Limpa'' (''English:'' Clean Record Act) or Complementary Law no. 135 of 2010 is a Brazilian act that amended the ''Conditions of Ineligibility Act'' (''Complementary Law no. 64'' of 1990). It was the fourth bill (law), bill propose ...

'' project, which aims to prevent the candidacy to public offices by citizens responding to legal actions. In addition to being part of the advisory board of

, Whitaker is also a founding member of the nongovernmental organization , which is affiliated to the

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

and aims to fight against corruption in Brazil. He also is a member of the

World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations. FuturePolicy.org The website f ...

. The World Future Council brings the interests of future generations to the centre of policy making.

Publications

* 1992: ''O que é vereador?'' * 1994: ''Idéias para Acabar com os Picaretas'' * 2005: ''Desafio do Fórum Social Mundial: um Modo de Ver'' * 2006: ''Towards a New Politics. What Future for the World Social Forum?'' * 2007: ''Eleições, Cidadania e Redes'' (DVD) * 2007: ''Das Weltsozialforum: Offener Raum für eine andere Welt''

References

: ''This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the

Portuguese Wikipedia The Portuguese Wikipedia ( pt, Wikipédia em português) is the Portuguese language edition of Wikipedia (written Wikipédia, in Portuguese), the free encyclopedia. It was started on 11 May 2001. In addition to being the sixth most accessed web ...

.''

External links

Official blog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Chico 1931 births 20th-century Brazilian politicians Brazilian Christian socialists Brazilian city councillors Brazilian expatriates in France Brazilian Roman Catholics Catholic socialists Liberation theologians Living people São Paulo (state) politicians Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians

Biography

Publications

See also

References

External links