SAINT PAUL.- The Sociologist Janja Don’t miss a Lula da Silva rally Michelle frequently leads evangelical cults with President Jair Bolsonaro. Both They are wives of the top contenders for Brazil’s presidency and took one main role in the election campaign.
In 2018, when the leader of Brazil’s far-right campaigned for the presidency for the first time, Michelle Bolsonaro stayed in the background. At the time, his participation was limited to a few statements Defending the rights of the deaf.
Considered a woman by his relatives discreet and reservedhis notoriety rose on the same day that Bolsonaro took power, on January 1, 2019. On that day, Michelle gave a speech in sign language to the President himself, an unprecedented gesture in the country’s recent history.
The First Lady’s presence increased as the legislature progressed and he became central in the 2022 campaign.
But its leading role has also become one double-edged sword
Opponents have criticized his poses on social media with elegant mourning dresses during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and have now given him nicknames “Micheque”and recalled a scandal that broke out in 2020 over some checks received by the first lady and handed over by an adviser to the Bolsonaro family, who was in prison on a corruption case.
Defined by the President as a “woman of God” and familyMichelle Bolsonaro is used to leading massive events with evangelicals, one of the president’s mainstays and to whom he has promised “Jesus Christ in Government”.
The 40-year-old First Lady, with whom Bolsonaro has a daughter, has also concentrated her efforts attract the female voiceone of the workhorses of the far-right leader, who carries a history of sexist and misogynist remarks.
In this file photo taken on July 24, 2022, Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro speaks during the Liberal Party (PL) national convention at which her husband, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was formally nominated as a candidate for re-election Supporters MAURO PIMENTEL – AFP
The President’s wife has addressed women both in election propaganda on television and at rallies, where she has even said so the “wife is the man’s helper”.
The statement drew criticism from feminist groups and was refuted by Rosângela da Silva, known as “Janja”, the wife of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the favorite to win this Sunday’s election.
“I will not help, I will not be an assistant. I’ll be by your side, fighting alongside you”emphasized Janja in a veiled reply to the First Lady.
Trained sociologist and Labor Party (PT) activist since the 1980sJanja, 55 years, her romance with Lula began while the former president was still in prison at the Federal Police Headquarters in Curitiba for a corruption conviction that was later overturned.
And the first thing Lula did when he was released from prison in November 2019 was to introduce his girlfriend to militancy: “I accomplished the feat of being a prisoner, having a girlfriend, being in love, and getting her to agree to marry me.”.
Both married last May, on the eve of the elections. Since then, Janja gained more and more space in the former president’s election campaign and the campaign even speaks of the “Brazilian Evita”.
The sociologist is one of the most visible faces of Lula’s performances, where she frequently picks up the microphone and sings in front of the militants the song “Lula lá,” a 1989 classic that she and artists are re-imagining as a wedding gift for the progressive leader .
Janja always keeps an eye on her husband on stage: Puts a hat on him when the sun is beating down, offers him water or repairs his shirt lapel while the former president speaks.
proactive and spontaneoususually attends PT leadership meetings and has taken over Lula’s articulation with artists and digital influencers, organizing massive events like the one in Sao Paulo on Monday.
Rosangela Silva, wife of former Brazilian President Luiz Ignácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, who is running for re-election, sings during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday September 25, 2022. Brazil’s general elections are scheduled for October 2. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado) Bruna Prado – AP
“I owe the success (of this act) to Janja. She insisted on organizing this and I reap what was planted.”Lula reiterated the day before, minutes before attending the meeting with singers, actors, intellectuals and digital influencers.
Janja has already announced that if Lula wins the elections, as all polls predict, will bring new meaning to the concept of the First Lady.
“I have a little secret: we’re going to try to give this concept of the first lady a new meaning, we’ll talk about that later,” he told his more than 200,000 followers on Instagram.
EFE agency