At the beginning of May, the air of the triumph was filled with dinner in Beijing, where the President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva celebrated diplomatic victory: businessmen traveling with him said that they secured billions of dollars of the investment, when the veteran renewed his international prestige, standing along his Chinese contractor, XI Jining.
But then the Brazilian first lady of Rosângela da Silva, better known as Janja, raised her hand.
Although no one was supposed to speak, Da Silva turned to the 11th, saying that the Chinese social company Tiktok is a challenge for leftists, claiming that the algorithm prefers right -wing. Apparently, the President of China answered her. The exchange leaked to the Brazilian media before the dessert took place.
Lula's government is struggling with the unpopular, which World of his references as a re -election leader next year. Some analysts, including members of his government, attribute this to a partially perceived crossing of their wife in what was once a ceremonial role.
Janja, a 58-year-old sociologist, criticized for insulting the billionaire of technology Elon Musk, mocking the suicide of Pro-Jair Bolsonaro and advising the President how to use the army during January 8, 2023 riots in the capitalBrasilia. Despite this, he insists that she speaks every time he serves the public interest.
The Datafolha survey published on June 12 showed that 36 percent of Brazilians believe that the actions of the first lady will harm the government, and 14 percent claims that it is helpful. This was the first measure of the first lady's approval.
The same survey showed Lula with a 40 % disapproval assessment, an increase of eight percentage points from October 2024.
The presidency of Brazil stated in a statement for the Associated Press on June 20 that Da Silva is adjacent to the guidelines of the lawyer's office, adding that “he acts as a citizen, combining her public visibility with the experience that she built during her professional career to support appropriate social problems and issues of public interest.”
“ Impossible interference ''
According to the guidelines published by the Office of the General Advocate, the President's spouse fulfills primarily a “symbolically representative role on behalf of the president as a social, cultural, ceremonial, political or diplomatic nature.” For many of her critics, she does not give her the right to speak as a government representative.
The Brazilian media announced that government, legislators and die -hard leftist activists privately raise the fears that the first lady is an obstacle more than an asset. These worries have increased rapidly since the incident in China – even when Lula herself praised his wife for speaking.
“It seems that Brazil rules the couple,” said Beatriz Rey, political science political scientific and researcher at the University of Lisbon. “When (first lady) says that there will be no protocols to silence her, he does not respect our democratic institutions, because there is no chosen office, there is no government position. It is not about being a woman or a feminist. This is excessive interference.”
“Present and vocals”
Lula's first wife, Maria de Lourdes, died in 1971. His second, Maris Letícia, died in 2017. Lula, 79, and Janja said that they met in 2017 and often began to see during 580 days of the leftist leader in the city of Curitiba between 2018 and 2019.
Many supporters of the Luli Workers' Party partially attribute criticism towards the first lady of misinformation and disinformation. In May, the party started the “I am from Janja” social media campaign in its defense. But weekly efforts brought less than 100,000 views and only a few hundred comments.
“Janja is an advantage because she rejuvenates Lula, everyone in the government understands that even her critics,” said the source of the Brazilian government. “Nobody wants to discourage her. But many important people in Brasilia, friends and allies Lula understand that by exceeding the advantage, they reject his rejection to the president.”
The source, which spoke provided anonymity due to the lack of authorization to speak publicly about this matter, often travels with the president and the first lady.
Adriana Negreiros, a journalist who profiled the first lady of the podcast entitled “Janja” entitled “Janja”, said that the president's allies who criticize her do it with the utmost caution.
“(Janja) dances, sings, speaks, appears at official events and meetings with the heads of states. He insists to be present and loud,” said Negreiros. “There is no doubt many sexism and misogyne, without a doubt. But not all critics are sexist.”
“He will say what he wants”
Da Silva said that she was not going to dinner “just to accompany” her husband.
“I have common sense. I consider myself an intelligent person. So I know very well what my borders are. I am fully aware,” said Folha de S. Paulo's daily newspaper.
Da Silva, however, expressed his remorse during the same podcast for the curse she used against Musk in 2024, he was once a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
Many opponents of Lula say that they want the first lady to remain in the center of attention.
“The more he says, the more he holds the microphone, the more he helps the right wing,” said Nikolas Ferreira, one of the most popular right-wing legislators in Brazil.
Ferreira, an outstanding form of social media, claims that the role of social media regulation is a matter for the Brazil Congress, and not for the first lady, which debated with foreign leaders, such as XI.
It is also expected that Da Silva will play as an avid hostess at the BRICS summit in Rio on July 6-7, her husband's role will almost be sure.
“He will want to,” Lula told journalists in March after criticizing the first lady to his representative to the peak of nutrition in Paris this month. “He will say what he wants and goes where he wants.”