Tilden Santiago

Tilden Santiago
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
1 February 1991 – 31 January 2003
Ambassador of Brazil to Cuba
In office
25 April 2003 – 23 January 2007
Personal details
Born(1940-07-13)13 July 1940
Nova Era, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died2 February 2022(2022-02-02) (aged 81)
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Political partyPT (1980-2007)
PSB (2008-2019)
PSOL (2020-2021)
Cidadania (2021-2022)

Tilden José Santiago (13 July 1940 – 2 February 2022) was a Brazilian politician and diplomat. He served as a federal deputy for Minas Gerais from 1991 to 2023 and ambassador to Cuba from 2003 to 2007. He was also special advisor to the presidency of CEMIG.

Political career

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Graduating in Philosophy and Journalism, Santiago joined the Ação Libertadora Nacional (ALN) after the 1964 military coup, and became one of the founders of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) and the Workers' Party (PT).[1][2] He was ordained a priest in 1967, abandoning the priesthood in the 1970s.[3]

Santiago worked in the government of Itamar Franco as secretary of the Environment and Sustainable Development. He was a federal deputy for three consecutive terms.[4]

In 2002, Santiago came third in the election for Senator in Minas Gerais, an election in which the two most voted were elected. He received 3,301,171 votes, equivalent to 20.57% of the total.[5] For assuming a position at the state-owned company CEMIG during the state government Aécio Neves in 2007, his membership in the Workers' Party was suspended.[6] In the second half of 2008, Santiago joined the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB).[7][8]

Santiago was the Brazilian ambassador to Cuba during President Lula's first term (2003–2006).[9][10][11] His position as ambassador generated some controversy.

In July 2010, Santiago was announced as the second alternate on Aécio Neves' Senate ticket. The first alternate was Elmiro Nascimento, from the DEM, while the other seat for the Senate race went to former president of the Republic Itamar Franco, a member of the PPS,[12] who died in 2011.

In 2012, Santiago was threatened with expulsion from the PSB for denouncing the party for fraud in the election in Contagem, in which the party supported Durval Ângelo (PT), while Santiago declared support for Carlin Moura (PCdoB).[13][14]

Death

[edit]

Santiago died of COVID-19 on 2 February 2022, at the age of 81.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "PT de Minas suspende filiação de ex-embaixador em Cuba". G1. 20 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Irmão de arma de Dilma, Tilden prefere Marina". Estadão. 27 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Morre Tilden Santiago, ex-presidente do SJPMG". FENAJ. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Tilden Santiago - PT/MG". Câmara dos Deputados.
  5. ^ "Página Oficial do Tribunal Regional Eleitoral de Minas Gerais (TRE-MG)". Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Página oficial do PT". Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  7. ^ "PSB - Tilden Santiago reforça a campanha de Léo Antunes". Jornal Folha de Contagem.
  8. ^ Pablo Peixoto (12 August 2008). "Por integrar equipe de Aécio, Tilden Santiago troca PT por PSB". Jornal Folha de S. Paulo.
  9. ^ "Novo embaixador do Brasil em Cuba visita Aécio Neves". Agência Minas. 24 April 2003. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Lula oficializa saída de Tilden Santiago da embaixada em Cuba". G1. 24 November 2006.
  11. ^ "Diário Oficial". 1 December 2006.
  12. ^ "Deputado estadual do DEM será o primeiro suplente de Aécio ao Senado". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  13. ^ Luciana Coelho (8 July 2012). "PSB pode expulsar Tilden por dissidência".
  14. ^ "PSB ameaça expulsar o ex-embaixador Tilden Santiago". Brasil 247. 9 July 2012.
  15. ^ "montesclaros.com - Um olhar para o que é notícia em toda parte". montesclaros.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Morre, de Covid, Tilden Santiago: fundador do PT e ex-embaixador em Cuba". 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.