Lula plans to revamp his personal office, and Janja could gain strength in new design

President Lula (PT) plans to restructure his Personal Cabinet for his fourth term, with the addition of duties and the appointment of a figure to deal exclusively with the PT member's private agenda.

According to allies, one of the proposals under discussion is the transfer of the management of the president's pages on social media, currently under the responsibility of Secom (Presidency Communications Secretariat).

The expectation of people close to Lula is that First Lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, will begin to exert greater influence on the president's personal communication with the transfer of her networks to the Personal Cabinet.

Considered and discarded during the government's assembly, in 2023, the idea returned to the table after Lula surrendered to selfies during the presidential campaign. After winning the second round, he announced his intention to use the resource in the next term.

In addition to communication, changes to the president's personal advice are being studied. The idea, also according to allies, is to appoint a private secretary to organize Lula's private agenda. The chief of staff would then be responsible for coordinating the presidential agenda for the exercise of administrative duties, such as, for example, coordination between his ministries.

The argument in favor of transferring to the Personal Cabinet is that, with his personal profiles under the management of a direct advisor, Lula will have greater agility in publishing his videos. For example, in the mornings.

The president only resorted to the format after an unfavorable result in the first round. On October 7, shortly after arriving at a disadvantage in the second round, Lula published his first video in the form of a selfie. The change in tone is cited as one of the reasons for the historic turnaround over senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).

Later, he said that the first lady has always been one of the supporters of the use of selfies, as well as deputy André Janones (Rede-MG) and the governor of Piauí, Rafael Fonteles.

In a speech, Lula even apologized to Janja and minister Sidônio Palmeira (Secom) for no longer incorporating selfies into his routine, despite the insistence of the two and other allies.

This is not the first time that the administration of Lula's personal accounts has undergone changes. During the election campaign, their profiles were temporarily transferred to the PT. The intention was to bring greater force to the electoral debate, without the constraints imposed on the federal government.

When administered by the government, the president's pages have been restricted to reporting official agendas. Therefore, today the intention is that, at least on some platforms, your accounts have more direct management.

For the role, allies are betting on names familiar with the president. Former holder of Secom, Paulo Pimenta is among those listed. He ran for the Senate in the last elections with the aim of offering Lula a platform in Rio Grande do Sul, being defeated in the dispute.

In addition to him, the former mayor of Osasco and state deputy for São Paulo, Emídio de Souza, has the support of the president's allies for the role. Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Márcio Tavares, is considered for the position, with Janja's endorsement for the task.

The idea of ​​professionalizing the Palace's kitchen was evidenced with the removal of former chief of staff Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, known as Marcola, cited in an investigation into influence peddling for having received payments from lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger. He claims that the amounts were part of a loan, recently paid off.

With the outbreak of the case, Márcio Tavares began to work on organizing the president's agenda. A friend of Janja, he began to be considered to take over as head of cabinet in the fourth term.

The president's allies repeat, however, that the president has avoided bringing forward the design he plans for the Esplanada in the future term.

Asked about the possibility of restructuring the president's office, PT's advisors said they had no news about these or other changes to the team.