In early May, Air of Triumph filled a dinner in Beijing, where Brazil president, Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, celebrated a diplomatic victory: businessmen traveling with him said they had obtained billions of dollars in Chinese investment, while the veteran chief renewed his international prestige standing alongside his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jining.
But the Brazilian first lady Rosângela da Silva, better known as Janja, raised her hand.
Although no one is supposed to speak, Da Silva addressed Xi, saying that the Chinese social media society Tiktok posed a challenge for the leftists, saying that his algorithm promotes right -handers. The Chinese president would have answered him. The exchange was disclosed in the Brazilian media when dessert was served.
The Lula government is struggling with unpopularity which has broken its references as a favorite for the re -election of next year. Some analysts, including members of his government, attribute this partly to the perceived perception of his wife in what was once a role of ceremony.
Janja, a 58-year-old sociologist, sparked criticism to insult the technological billionaire Elon Musk, mocking the suicide of a pro-Jair Bolsonaro supporter and advising the president on how to use the army during the riots of January 8, 2023 in the capital, Brasilia. However, she insists on the fact that she will be expressed every time she serves the public interest.
A DataFolha survey published on June 12 revealed that 36% of Brazilians think that the actions of the First Lady harm the government, while 14% say they are useful. It was the first measure of the first lady’s approval sounder.
The same survey has shown that Lula with a 40%work disapproval rating, an increase in eight percentage points compared to October 2024.
The Brazilian presidency declared in a press release to the Associated Press on June 20 that Da Silva adheres to the directives of the Office of the General Solicitor, adding that it “acts as a citizen, combining its public visibility with the experience that she has built throughout her professional career in favor of relevant social problems and questions of public interest”.
“Undue interference”
According to the directives published by the office of the Solicitor General, the president’s spouse mainly fulfills “a symbolically representative role in the name of the president of social, cultural, ceremonial, political or diplomatic”. For many of his detractors, that does not grant him the power to speak as a government representative.
The Brazilian media have reported that government ministers, legislators and firm leftist activists raise private concerns concerning the first lady an obstacle more than an asset. These concerns have skyrocketed since the incident in China – even if Lula himself congratulated his wife for having spoken.
“It seems that Brazil is governed by a couple,” said Beatriz Rey, in post-doctoral political science and researcher at the University of Lisbon. “When [the first lady] Said there will be no protocol to silence it, it lacks respect for our democratic institutions because it does not have an elected post, no post of government. It is not a question of being a woman or a feminist. It is an excessive interference. “”
‘Present and vocal’
Lula’s first wife, Maria de Lourdes, died in 1971. Her second, Marisa Letícia, died in 2017. Lula, 79, and Janja declared that she had met in 2017 and began to see herself frequently during the 580 days of the left chief in the city of Curitiba between 2018 and 2019. They married in 2022.
Many supporters of the Lula workers’ party partially attribute criticism against the first lady to disinformation and disinformation. In May, the party launched the social media campaign “I am with Janja” for its defense. But the effort of a week has collected less than 100,000 views and only a few hundred comments.
“Janja is an asset because she rejuvenates Lula, everyone in the government understands that even its detractors,” said a source from the Brazilian government at AP. “No one wants to alienate it. But many important people in Brasilia, Lula friends and allies understand that by exceeding, she brings part of her rejection to the president.”
The source, which spoke under the condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak publicly about the case, often travels with the president and the first lady.
Adriana Negreiros, a journalist who profiled the First Lady for a 2024 podcast entitled “Janja”, said that allies of the president who criticize her do it with extreme caution.
“”[Janja] Dances, sings, is expressed, appears during official events and meetings with the heads of state. She insists on being present and vocal, “said Negreiros.” There is a lot of sexism and misogyny against her, without a doubt. But not all criticisms are sexist. “”
‘She will say what she wants’
Da Silva said that she was not going to dinners “just to accompany” her husband.
“I have common sense. I consider myself an intelligent person. So I know very well what are my limits. I am fully aware of that,” she told a podcast of the daily Folha of S. Paulo.
Da Silva, however, expressed remorse during the same podcast for the explanive that she used against Musk in 2024, formerly a close friend of the American president Donald Trump.
Many Lula adversaries say they want the First Lady to stay under the spotlight.
“The more she speaks, the more she holds a microphone, the more she helps the wing on the right,” said Nikolas Ferreira, one of the most popular right -wing legislators in Brazil.
Ferreira, an eminent figure of social media, says that the role of social media regulations is a question for the Brazil congress, and not for the First Lady to debate with foreign leaders like XI.
Da Silva should also play as a passionate Hôtess at the Brics summit in Rio from July 6 to 7, a role that her husband is almost certain not to oppose.
“She will be where she wants,” Lula told journalists in March following criticism for sending the First Lady as a representative to a nutrition summit in Paris this month. “She will say what she wants and goes where she wants.”
