Brasilia, Feb 16 (EFE).- Michelle de Paula Firmo, wife of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed this Thursday that she decided to fully enter politics to “help build a better Brazil.”
The former first lady was appointed by the Liberal Party (PL) as head of the women’s chapter of that formation, to which the far-right leader joined last year to aspire to re-election in the elections that the progressive Luiz Inácio finally won Lula da Silva.
“Michelle will have the structure of the party, she will tour the country and promote women’s meetings,” explained the president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto.
Michelle, fervent evangelical
Bolsonaro’s wife is a fervent evangelical and played an important role in her husband’s frustrated electoral campaign, serving as a bridge with neo-Pentecostal churches that are increasingly influential in Brazil.
Since Bolsonaro took power in 2019, his wife has devoted herself to promoting sign language and the inclusion of deaf people, as well as coordinating volunteer campaigns aimed at caring for children from the poorest communities.
On December 30, two days before Lula’s inauguration, she traveled with her husband to the United States, although she returned to Brasilia earlier this month, as her 12-year-old daughter Laura had to go back to school.
Bolsonaro is still in Orlando
Bolsonaro, who has not yet fully recognized his defeat at the polls against Lula, instead remains in Orlando (Florida) and has not yet specified when he will return to Brazil, where the PL awaits him to lead the opposition to the new government.
In a message released by the PL, Michelle Bolsonaro said that she has decided to fully enter politics, because, as a woman, she has a “special look” and is “capable of reconciling” her role as “mother and wife” with life public.
“If God saw this grace in me and gave me the opportunity to help build a better Brazil, I am willing to collaborate for the growth of the PL”, declared the 40-year-old former first lady.
Bolsonaro, 67, has four other children from previous marriages and three of them are active in politics: Senator Flávio, Congressman Eduardo and Rio de Janeiro councilor Carlos.
