Dante Martins de Oliveira, 54, RIP

Dante Martins de Oliveira is seen in Mato Grosso, Brazil, in this undated file photo released by SECOM. Oliveira a lawmaker who was instrumental in ending Brazil’s military dictatorship died Thursday of complications from diabetes, his office said. He was 54/ AP Photo/SECOM.

DFO: This man fascinates me for several reasons, beginning with the properly spelled surname (including the “de,” which also was once part of my family name), of course. I know I have distant relatives in Brazil. And this fella looks an awful lot like my younger brother Ed. ‘Tis nice to think that he might be a distant relative. And he spent his life shaking up the man in his part of the world.