Technician and politician at the same time, Sidônio Palmeira gained the trust of the PT member during the election and became an informal advisor
Publicist Sidônio Palmeira to Secom (Secretariat of Social Communication) of the Presidency starting next week. He takes office in place of (PT) with the challenge of recovering the popularity of the president (PT), who since taking office in 2023, and with an eye on the 2026 elections.
With a history of electoral campaigns for the PT in Bahia and institutional actions for the party, Sidônio approached Lula during the 2022 electoral campaign. He took over the marketing of the PT candidate in the midst of a around the communication, at the time, of the then candidate. He had the support of the president of the party, Gleisi Hoffmann, and that of the former mayor of Araraquara (PT), who had taken over the coordination of communication for the Lulista campaign and is now tipped to lead the PT from July onwards.
Sidônio convinced Lula to polarize the dispute for Planalto with the former president (PL) from the beginning of the campaign, a strategy that the PT member had doubts about at the beginning. At the time, Bolsonaro was trying for re-election.
The 1st to the PT member, entitled “2 ladoes”, at the end it had a woman’s voice with the question: “What Brazil do you want? The one of hate?”. In the image, a hand made the symbol of ‘gun’typical of Bolsonaro’s campaign. Then, the narrator asked another question: “Or love?”. One hand then made the symbol of the ‘L’, by Lula. The video was shown for the first time on May 7, 2022, when Lula pre-launched his campaign.
Throughout the campaign, Sidônio gained the trust of the PT member. People who worked with him at the time report that there was a synergy between the two, mainly because the marketer also has a knack for analyzing the political situation. The good relationship built with First Lady Janja Lula da Silva is cited as another factor in his favor.
He remained present during the government, including constant trips to Brasília. Lula used to consult him on strategies for launching public policies and social programs.
Sidônio has intensified its presence in Planalto in recent months. He designed the strategy for publicizing the spending cut package, in which the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, announced the measures in a broadcast on national radio and television on November 27th.
In December, he produced and participated in the recording in which Lula appears alongside the president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo. In his speech, the PT member said that his government will never interfere in the decisions of the monetary authority and guaranteed autonomy to Galípolo.
With a low profile and low tone of speech, Sidônio does not like the spotlight and prefers to work behind the scenes. He also doesn’t like being called a marketer.
“I want to say that I am a person who has never worked in government, so, even so, in the private sector, I am an advertiser. Some call it marketer, I don’t really like the term marketer, because it makes it seem like we can transform anything into the ideal, but that’s not it”, he said when speaking to journalists for the first time since accepting the position, this Tuesday (7 January 2025).
Although he demonstrates a technical profile, people close to him believe he has a “political soul”. He is described by colleagues as pragmatic and objective.
One episode, however, clashed with his reserved behavior and surprised acquaintances. When Lula was elected, in October 2022, Sidônio had left the hotel where the PT member was following the counting of votes. As soon as the result was confirmed, he hurriedly returned. He ran to the outside entrance of the InterContinental hotel, jumped up and raised his hand with a closed fist, like a football player. “We won”, he exclaimed.
Sidônio was the 3rd Bahian marketer to work with Lula, but he will be the 1st to take on a government position. In 2022, Duda Mendonça (1944-2021) ran the campaign that took the PT member to Planalto for the first time with the motto “Lulinha peace and love”. In 2006, João Santana led the re-election of Lula and, in 2010 and 2014, the election and re-election of Dilma Rousseff (PT).
Both remained close to Lula and Dilma during their administrations, but never held a formal position. It is common for marketers to help elected presidents. Nizan Guanaes, for example, campaigned for Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) in 1994 and later collaborated with the toucan. But it is unusual for the marketer himself to head Secom.
