It seems to be everywhere. The face of the woman’s president is confused with the profile of the party, inside and outside social networks.
At the National Mandatory Meeting, which took place earlier this month in a convention center in Brasilia, Michelle launched the book “Building the Nation: About Bases and Values”, in which she presented her guidelines for female performance in public life.
At the event, he mobilized his base and brought together a thousand participants, including senators, deputies, mayors and councilors.
Three years ago, she stopped acting in welfare, as she did in her husband’s government, and gradually entered institutional policy.
Quoted to be a presidential candidate next year, Michelle now uses the PL woman to consolidate her lead, causing a crack among the pockets.
“We realize that Michelle brought an identity to the party,” says state deputy Dani Alonso, vice president of PL Mulher in the state of São Paulo.
Alonso states that the former first lady thought a plan for restructuring the acronym, betting on a series of strategies: the promotion of events to raise more affiliated, the intensive use of social networks, the creation of municipal directories and the realization of trips to nationalize the cause of the party, which is the creation of political representation for conservative women.
The former first lady took office in March 2023, nominated by the PL president, and obtained a budget of $ 860,000 per month.
In 2023 and 2024, the number of affiliates of the PL woman grew 14%, according to data from the (Superior Electoral Court). Currently, it has 995 mandates, as the affiliates that occupy some political office are called.
As a first lady, Michelle chose to help people with disabilities. In the possession of Bolsonaro, he used sign language in his speech and, in the four years he was in the Planalto, developed programs for this audience, such as the Signs Project and Librasgov.
He usually remained discreet and averse to the press. Evangelical, is always seen in services and has known proximity to religious leaders.
In Alonso’s view, Michelle’s popularity began to graduate in the 2022 presidential elections, when the first lady began to speak on the stands to try to reduce Bolsonaro’s rejection among women.
Already ahead of PL Mulher, transformed lipstick into a symbol of the amnesty campaign to participants of the January 8 coup attack.
With Bolsonaro’s ineligibility, his name was speculated to run for presidential elections.
“It is necessary to recognize Michelle’s charisma. The first time she spoke, in a political environment, I was there, witnessed, was in Rio de Janeiro and was a surprise to everyone,” recalls federal deputy Bia Kicis (PL).
“As the work appears, her name gets stronger. No one has doubt that she is one of the strongest names in national politics.”
With Bolsonaro ineligible, they show them that, in the first round, Michelle, totaling 26% of voting intentions, is the name that comes closest to Lula, a leader in the polls, with the 37% mark. In the second round, former first lady would lose to Lula for a narrow margin –46% compared to 42%.
Even with the growing popular appeal, Michelle is far from unanimous in the Bolsonarist base.
In May, in which Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, former Bolsonaro orders, and Fabio Wajngarten, an advisor to the former president, criticized Michelle.
Cid even wrote, ironically, that he would prefer Lula as a presidential candidate. Wajngarten, in turn, said he did not support Bolsonaro’s wife and said his children did not approve it either.
In a demonstration of political strength, Michelle, unhappy with the messages, had Wajngarten out of PL.
The party wing of the party tries to minimize internal division. “Nor Christ pleased everyone,” says Alonso.
“Michelle is a new face in politics. Now people will see a new Michelle. Criticisms everyone will suffer, but the rejection of her name is low,” says Kicis. In any case, restrictions on Michelle within the party continue.
There is an assessment that the increase in the popularity of the former first lady corresponds to a Valdemar power project. According to this reasoning, the president of the PL saw in Michelle a guardable figure, likely to be influenced by him.
In this sense, there is a discomfort with the amount of money invested in female leadership. In contrast, members of the acronym say Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL) did not receive the same investment from the party’s board.
Michelle, in short, is seen by these members as an inexperienced policy and a person of unstable and difficult to deal with, because he does not accept to be contradicted, which is not compatible with the reality of public life.
In a remote past, Bolsonaro himself thought so. Two years ago, he said his wife needed “something more” to be a candidate.
Time has passed, Michelle has become a leader and Bolsonaro’s position on Michelle changes with each interview, maintaining the official speech that he is a candidate in 2026. Sometimes it signals that his wife can occupy a Senate spot. Valdemar, who has always praised her, said the final decision on Michelle’s candidacy will be of the former Mandanician.
For Paulo Henrique Cassimiro, Professor of Political Science at UERJ (Rio de Janeiro State University), Michelle plays a central role in Bolsonaro’s electorate, because he is the only person in his family who is actually evangelical.
In this respect, Cassimiro highlights her oratory power, with typical interventions of religious leaders, and the ability to institutional right to ensure their political rise. “The left has difficulty dealing with women beyond empowerment,” he says. “The right tells the woman who is a mother, but works, takes care of the house, treats the woman as a complex social phenomenon.”
