Lula reveals what leaves Janja horrified in government – 01/23/2024 – Power

President Lula (PT) stated that the first lady, Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, acts as a kind of beacon for him and that she draws his attention when there is “something wrong”.

“Janja is my lighthouse, that guiding light. When there’s something wrong, she catches my attention. When there’s something wrong in the newspaper, she catches my attention. When there’s something online, she catches my attention. Sometimes she talks [alguma] something to me that my advisor doesn’t talk about. And that, obviously, helps me”, said the president in an interview with Metrópole da Bahia radio this Tuesday morning (23).

Such as Sheet showed, even in the absence of an official position, the first lady remained Lula’s influential advisor throughout the PT member’s first term, in 2023, with activities that went beyond the limits of the Palácio do Planalto, reaching the Legislative and Judiciary branches.

The PT member said that in addition to Janja’s personal care for him, the first lady is concerned about politics, stating that “she lives politics 24 hours a day.” The president also stated that the sociologist is interested in social issues, topics related to the environment, sustainability and is “very concerned about women’s issues”.

“You have no idea how she charges me when the [fotógrafo Ricardo Stuckert] Stuckinha takes a photo of me and there is only a man in it. When she sees the photo she is horrified. ‘You didn’t have a woman to put in the photo? Why only man, only man, only man?’ And, sometimes, the majority are men, what can they do?” said the PT member.

Since the election campaign, the sociologist has stated that she wants to give new meaning to the role of first lady, historically associated with volunteer work. The omnipresence of the first lady and her assessment on topics ranging from economics to culture, however, caused friction with members of the government and PT allies.

Also this Tuesday, Lula said that women have gained empowerment and want to speak and participate, acting as subjects of the story, and no longer as supporting characters. “Janja helps me a lot with this. It’s not just because she’s my wife that she has to keep quiet, no. Because she’s my wife she has to speak up. She’s a political activist, she likes and does politics and has to put her her position,” he said.