The government () published a decree that officially increased the power of First Lady Rosângela da Silva, making the services of the Personal Office of the Presidency of the Republic available to her.
The office helps organize the agenda and ceremonies, receive and respond to correspondence, formulate statements, form the private collection, manage the artistic collection under the responsibility of the Presidency and preserve and adapt the palaces and residences used by the head of the Executive.
The structure is commanded by political scientist Marcola, one of the people closest to Lula in recent years. Below him are units such as the order assistance, the ceremonial department, the deputy agenda office and the historical documentation department. Between commission positions and trust functions, the office has 189 jobs.
Published in August and signed by Lula, Rui Costa (PT), chief minister of the Civil House, and Esther Dweck, head of Management and Innovation, the decree established that this structure must also be available to Janja. The decree amended the 2023 legislation regarding the composition and functions of the cabinet and added that it must also “support the spouse of the President of the Republic in carrying out activities of public interest”.
The decree adds another chapter to the debate about Janja’s participation in the government’s routine and in Lula’s agendas, understood by opponents and also by allies of the president himself, such as .
The president’s spouse does not hold a public office and, therefore, has no official duties. Janja, however, has had a group of civil servants informally under his command since the beginning of the PT mandate. A report by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo identified at least as members of his unofficial team.
The first lady is criticized by the , accompanied by this team, and for political interventions seen as inappropriate. One of the most rumored cases occurred in May, when she spoke out during Lula’s meeting with Xi Jinping, Chinese leader, disturbing the interlocutors.
In April, the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) published a report on the role of the spouse of the President of the Republic.
According to the text, Janja can represent President Lula in activities of a cultural nature, for example, although he cannot make commitments on behalf of the government. Their work is voluntary in nature, unpaid, and must be subject to accountability.
In a note for the report, the Presidency’s Communication Secretariat states that the August decree consolidated this norm and that “the regulations establish the legal guidelines inherent to such action [da primeira-dama] and contribute to transparency in carrying out activities”.
Janja has said publicly on more than one occasion that he would like to have his own office. “They talk a lot about me not having a cabinet, but we need to raise this issue again. In the United States, the first lady does. She also has an agenda, protagonism, and no one questions it. Why are people questioning it in Brazil? I will continue doing what I think is right. I know the limits. I want to know the discussions, inform myself, I don’t want to hear from third parties”, he said, in a published by the newspaper O Globo in November 2023.
A year later, she said that the idea of her having her own office was crushed due to misogyny and machismo.
“Just yesterday I received a letter from the First Lady of Paraguay, who due to a health problem cannot be at the G20 with us, [assinada] from the First Lady’s office. I can’t even put this on paper. If I want to produce something, like a letter, I pay out of pocket. Card, everything, I pay out of my own pocket”, he told .
Report from Sheet showed that in 2023 after hearing from assistants that the act could be characterized as .
Also contributing to the retreat was the argument made by members of the Civil House and that it would be exposed and subject to investigation by control bodies, such as (Tribunal de Contas da União) and (Comptroller General of the Union), in addition to the Justice itself —without having a privileged forum—, and could be summoned to speak at the National Congress.
The president’s fear was that opponents would use the first lady’s figure to target him and that she would be excessively exposed and become the target of judicial investigations.
