By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Sociologist “Janja Lula da Silva,” as she is known on social networks, is 52 years old, lives in Curitiba, has been a member of the Workers Party (PT) since the 1980s; she was introduced to the public by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s allies as his new girlfriend.
The two have known each other for over two decades, says Brazilian media outlet Veja in its latest report this week.
Janja was hired to work in the Itaipu Binacional office in Curitiba, with no pre-qualification selection process, after Lula’s election. Gleisi Hoffmann, the current leader of PT, was the financial director of the state-owned company at the time.
The relationship between the two, however, has always been very discreet. Seldom have they been seen together.
One of the rare records occurred in November 2009 when Lula was in his second term. Janja officially traveled to Brasília to attend a seminar on gender issues.
As coordinator of the company’s social programs, she used the trip to deliver a gift to Lula. Days earlier, the former president had turned 64. Lula loved the gift.
When the former president left Planalto in 2011, Janja also changed jobs. In 2012, she was assigned to Eletrobrás, in Rio de Janeiro, where she worked as a communications and institutional relations advisor, returning to Itaipu in February 2017 – a year and two months before Lula’s arrest.
The former president was widowed in February 2017, when Marisa Leticia, the First Lady, passed away at the age of 66.
The sociologist visited Lula in jail for the first time in June 2018. The couple celebrated Valentine’s Day, reported a friend. Since then, Rosângela has been to Federal Police headquarters, where Lula is imprisoned, on six other occasions.
Lula is said to be in love and considering getting married after serving his sentence for corruption and money laundering.
(Source: Veja)