Marcos Uchôa gains space and raises the ball for Lula to cut it – 06/19/2023 – Politics

A constant presence in President Lula’s (PT) agenda and trips, journalist Marcos Uchôa has become one of the faces of the federal government’s communication.

This image should be further reinforced from now on, as the former international correspondent for TV Globo has a permanent place as presenter in the lives that started to be held by Lula.

Uchôa claims that one of his attributions is to create the conditions for Lula to spread his message. Or, in a sports metaphor, lifting the ball for the president to cut.

“I think my role is that of a setter in volleyball. I point out the paths, loopholes, but Lula is the one who makes the point. He was elected president, he has to appear, not me”, Uchôa said to Sheet.

At the Planalto Palace, there are those who defend the return of a spokesman for the president, as in previous administrations of the PT. In this scenario, the name of Uchôa is well regarded among palatians.

This Monday morning (19), Lula carried out his second live broadcast on social networks, in an attempt to boost his performance on the internet.

The government claims that it sought to move away from the model of the popular lives of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who used a similar space to spread fake news and attack opponents.

Lula promises a more institutional and informative character in his lives, but the president already took the opposite direction in the second broadcast, taking advantage of the occasion to attack Bolsonaro.

The PT broadcasts follow the format of an informal interview, mixing the disclosure of government actions with personal moments of the president, as a kind of talk-show.

These interviews are conducted by Uchôa, a professional with decades of experience. He covered the Olympics and World Cups for TV Globo, was a correspondent in Europe and followed conflicts such as the Iraq War and the Libyan Civil War in loco. He thus became a well-known face among the Brazilian population.

At the end of 2021, he resigned from TV Globo after 34 years of acting. Last year, he even launched himself as a candidate for federal deputy in Rio de Janeiro for the PSB, the party of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. He ended up dropping out a few months before the vote.

The journalist was hired in March by EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação) to act as a reporter and to try to “contribute to the quality of programming” at the company. He claims that one of his models is the British BBC, whose work he learned about when he worked as a correspondent in London.

“I’m a reporter, but I’ve been participating and giving my opinion in the construction of an EBC that wants to deal with themes closer to society. We are still in the first steps and I think that only next year will this intention become clearer”, he says.

The EBC journalist says that he never had any previous relationship with people from the PT and that he met Lula in his work as a reporter. He makes a point of emphasizing that he has already voted for the PT, just as he has already voted for Leonel Brizola and Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

“And of them, Lula is the most important political figure in the world. It is fascinating and a privilege to be able to see a piece of our history being made”, he adds.

Uchôa was on practically all of the president’s international trips, and his importance was clear during Lula’s trip to Hiroshima, Japan, for the G7 summit.

The representative was going to hold a press conference, but everyone, including Lula, had to wait because Uchôa was not yet present. He was contacted by the president’s press officer, in front of the other journalists, arriving minutes later.

Uchôa has also been chosen by Planalto to ask the first question in press conferences given by Lula. This was the case, for example, during the visit of the dictator Nicolás Maduro and the PT’s speech after the summit with the South American presidents.

In Lula and Maduro’s agenda, Uchôa avoided thorny issues such as the authoritarian nature of the Venezuelan regime.

“An expression that has been used a lot recently is that Brazil has returned. And, apparently in this speech and on that occasion, Venezuela has returned,” said the journalist, before asking about the symbolism of the meeting between the two on the eve of the meeting with the others. South American leaders.

It was in the two lives transmitted so far that his image in government communication was most highlighted.

The plans to carry out live broadcasts on the networks were announced in April by the minister of Secom (Secretary of Social Communication of the Presidency), Paulo Pimenta. However, the project was successively postponed due to problems with Lula’s schedule.

Interlocutors in Planalto say that the first edition of the Conversation with the President, on Tuesday morning (13), was only confirmed the night before.

Uchôa claims that there was no script and that none of the questions had been arranged with Lula. The first live was focused on economic issues, with Lula announcing the launch of the PAC in July and recapitulating economic and social measures.

There was time to talk about Corinthians’ bad phase and deal with other lighter matters.

The audience for the first two episodes was shy when compared to the popularity of the lives on Thursday, at 7 pm, made by Bolsonaro.

Palace advisers downplay the result, saying that Lula has always been better known for his personal treatment and that there is room for growth.

“Let’s acknowledge the obvious: [não é a melhor situação] a program that was decided to be recorded the day before, at 21:30, was not given due publicity. and his time [8h30] is far from ideal in terms of audience. But Lula prefers to record in the morning so as not to jeopardize his work schedule. And I don’t know, at night he might be tired, wanting to be with Janja, normal”, says Uchôa.