The insult of the first lady, Rosângela da Silva, Janja, towards businessman Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), became ammunition for Bolsonarism on social media.
Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who already spoke of “gunpowder” to criticize the President of the United States, Joe Biden, during his government, said after the episode: “We already have another diplomatic problem.”
Allies of the former president echoed the speech, and the first lady reached the trending topics on X with derogatory and sexist mentions.
Janja’s insult, anticipated by Sheetwas given during a G20 Social panel, organized by the government to create a bridge between themes addressed by the group and civil society.
The first lady was speaking about the regulation of platforms when there was interference in her speech. Jokingly, she said: “I think it’s Elon Musk.” He then added: “I’m not afraid of you. Even fuck you, Elon Musk.”
Hours later, Lula said, without directly mentioning the episode, that “we don’t have to curse anyone.”
“I wanted to tell you that this is a campaign in which we don’t have to offend anyone, we don’t have to insult anyone. We just need to outrage society”, said the PT member at the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty festival.
Last August, at the height of the crisis between Musk and the STF (Supreme Federal Court) in which the billionaire refused to respect court orders, Lula had said that the businessman was subject to the country’s laws and added: “He [Musk] You can’t be offended. (…) What does he think he is? He has to respect the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court.”
In government, the first lady’s statement generated discomfort and headaches for diplomats, many of them gathered at the G20, a meeting of the world’s largest powers, hosted in Rio de Janeiro this year.
Privately, they and members of Esplanada said that the insults could hinder the government’s attempts to establish a pragmatic relationship with Donald Trump.
The president-elect of the United States has already appointed Musk to join his administration, as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Since the Republican’s election at the beginning of the month, Lula has been careful in his statements on the matter. He always tried to say that it was the prerogative of the American population to elect whoever they thought was best and that he would interact, as head of state, with whoever won the election in the country.
The pragmatic tone comes after a statement in the final stretch of the campaign in which the PT member cited the risk of “Nazism with a different face” to defend the victory of Democrat Kamala Harris and remember the 6th of January in the United States — the date of the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
On another front, diplomats assessed that Janja’s statement also hinders the Brazilian government’s attempt to reach consensus in the G20 and reduce friction with Argentina, whose president, Javier Milei, is also close to Musk.
The neighboring country objected, during the summit negotiations, to sections in the final declaration on gender equality and women’s empowerment — which was also criticized by Janja in a speech in Rio.
Furthermore, now the Argentines have opened an offensive against the taxation of the super-rich, a flag of the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and an important issue for the Brazilian government.
Members of the Lula administration privately agree with the critical assessment of the first lady who, in her speech, defended the regulation of platforms and the fight against disinformation.
There are those who minimize it and say that there is no reason for so much alarm, after all, the relationship with Musk was already turbulent and he was no longer making gestures of appeasement.
The businessman, close to Bolsonarism, has already refused to comply with a court order and had the X suspended, in addition to having cursed Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF.
There were also those, such as Minister Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development), who defended the first lady. “The truth is that Janja said what was stuck in our throats. This is the feeling about Elon Musk and his negative interference in international politics”, he said on X.
The general assessment, however, is that the insult was unnecessary in giving ammunition to Bolsonarism.
former president, in addition to talking about the crisis, published a video of him with Musk, from when the businessman came to the country in 2022, and wrote, in English: “Respect, technology and development. Internet for the entire Amazon”, in reference to the Starlink’s entry into the country.
Bolsonaro was criticized during his administration for adopting a confrontational foreign policy, guided by ideology, especially when Ernesto Araújo was at the head of Itamaraty. He himself also criticized heads of state, such as Biden, and the then Argentine president, Alberto Fernández.
Federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), in turn, said: “I miss when Bolsonaro’s ‘diplomatic crisis’ was calling Macron’s wife ugly.” He mentioned an episode when the former president made an offensive comment about the appearance of the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron. At the time, he refused to apologize either.
PL secretary general and senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) was more succinct about Janja’s comment and quipped: “What elegance.”
