Lula and Janja attack Bolsonaro and OECD and reinforce their intention to regulate social networks

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) held this Tuesday (19) the last weekly live of the year “Conversa com o Presidente”, which was attended by the first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, to make a review of the first year of the new government.

The broadcast, which had a peak of 3,800 people watching, dealt with milder subjects, such as the couple’s coexistence and habits at the Palácio da Alvorada, but also themes that are always present in the lives, such as attacks on former president Jair Bolsonaro (PT) and performance of the Lula 3 government.

Lula and Janja also reinforced their intention to regulate social networks – especially after the hacker attack she suffered a week ago on X – and the contestation of data on the growth forecast for the Brazilian economy by the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) , considered the “rich people’s club”.

Among the routine attacks on the former president and repeated on this live, Lula once again said that he assumed the presidency of the country inheriting a “Brazil destroyed” by a “denialist person”. The statements were made after the PT member made a brief assessment of the “advances” he promoted this year, such as economic growth, reduction in inflation and unemployment, the country’s “respect” for the world, among others.

“All of this is a very pleasant thing for those who inherited the Brazil that I inherited, which was destroyed, coming from a denialist person who didn’t believe in anything and who didn’t do anything good,” he said (see excerpt).

At another point, Lula stated that the couple Bolsonaro and Michelle “did not take care of this house”, in reference to the supposed deterioration of the Palácio da Alvorada that he claimed to have found at the beginning of the year. At the time, Janja said he was “somewhat disappointed” with damage to the structure and furniture, so much so that he ordered a renovation of the official residence that lasted until the beginning of February, when he finally moved there.

“I stayed at that hotel until February, because the tenant who stayed here didn’t take care of it here. If the house he lives in is looked after like this one was looked after, come and go”, said Lula (see excerpt).

The reference to the situation found at Palácio da Alvorada occurred while commenting on the surgery he had on his femur in September, which had been constantly postponed since before last year’s electoral dispute. Lula stated that she considered going into hospital before taking office, but gave up the idea as she needed to start the government and make the necessary international trips.

Janja stated that he believes that the “damage” to his femur was caused by the exercise routine he had during the period in which he was imprisoned in the Federal Police prison, in Curitiba. “In the 580 days [em que ficou preso]he ran four hours a day, I think that’s what damaged his femur”, he said.

Regulation of social networks

Lula once again defended the need to regulate “the internet” and social media platforms due to the invasion that Janja’s account on network X suffered last week, and which remained frozen until Sunday night (17). She posted a “textão” saying that she thought carefully about whether she should publish again, but decided to “continue fighting so that all women can live their lives free from violence”.

“I’m really pissed off, really pissed off (he highlighted the insult), with people who attack her on the internet, because I’ve never talked about the wife of a president, deputy, councilor. The person who does this is a scoundrel”, said Lula, followed by more criticism of the way people have attacked Janja on social media, classifying them as “very unpleasant” who “lowered the bar a lot” and “becoming inhumane” (see excerpt ).

To which Janja amended, saying he did not understand why people react against the need to “regulate social networks and the internet”, given that coexistence in society itself is governed by rules. The speech was defended by Lula, who also highlighted that the media itself – radio and TV – is already undergoing regulation.

Janja also stated that the monetization of social networks also needs to be regulated and that he will sue billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X, for taking around an hour and a half to freeze her account on the platform after the invasion. “He became more of a millionaire with that attack,” said the first lady.

“We are going to have to carry out serious regulation, and not just for one country. It is a regulation for the world. The European Union has already made a regulation, we will have to take a good look at what has been done, let’s see what is happening in China, in the United States”, stated the president.

They also stated that the teenager who confessed to being responsible for the attack on Janja’s account must have had an adult behind him inciting him, and that, often, parents don’t even know what their children are consuming on the internet – which would justify regulation and punishment. platforms for the content published.

Attack on the OECD

At another point, close to the end of the live broadcast, during the “final considerations”, Lula said he was irritated by the newspaper headlines about an OECD report published on Monday (18) which highlights the need for “a more ambitious package of structural reforms” than just the new fiscal and tax framework, and which sees Brazilian public debt on the rise, potentially reaching 90% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2047 – currently it is 74.7%.

“I even want to take advantage of this recording here to tell the OECD people that, when it comes to the end of next year, I will invite you to have a coffee to prove that you were wrong with the forecast you have for Brazil. […] How can you make an educated guess if you don’t know”, he asked (see excerpt).

Lula once again stated, as in other lives, that he received from an IMF executive in January this year, in Hiroshima (Japan), the prediction that Brazilian GDP would grow by just 0.8%, and that she “would be wrong” . He says he pointed out to her during his visit to India in September that she got the estimate wrong.

The Central Bank’s most recent Focus Report, released this Monday (18), points out that the market predicts GDP growth of 2.91% this year, while Minister Fernando Haddad, of Finance, works with a forecast of 3% .

Lula attacked the OECD at the moment the government itself announced the re-creation of the Interministerial Working Group (GTI) to resume studies for Brazil to join the organization, something that former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had as a goal and which was left aside at the beginning of the PT member’s new term.