Social Issues

Brazil’s Lula marries sociologist Rosângela da Silva in intimate ceremony

Sao Paulo, May 18 (EFE).- Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, favorite to win October’s general election, married sociologist Rosângela da Silva on Wednesday night in an intimate ceremony shrouded in secrecy.

The wedding, 76-year-old Lula’s third, took place in the city of Sao Paulo.

“Love wins!” the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) posted on his social media profiles along with a photograph of the moment in which he put the ring on his new wife’s finger.

According to local media reports, about 150 people were invited to the event, including politicians and artists, who were asked not to use their mobile phones to preserve the couple’s privacy.

Among the guests was former Sao Paulo governor, veteran liberal politician and fervent Catholic, Geraldo Alckmin, who will be Lula’s running mate in the election on Oct. 2.

Also present was singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil, minister of culture during Lula’s tenure and one of the great exponents of Brazilian popular music, according to photos posted on social media.

Lula’s relationship with 55-year-old da Silva came to light during the 580-day period between 2018 and 2019 when he was imprisoned for corruption convictions that were later overturned due to procedural errors.

“Janja,” as she is popularly known, studied sociology at the Federal University of Paraná and has been affiliated with the PT since 1983, three years after it was founded.

“No one (is) happier than me and you. Today is the day to celebrate our love. May the wind bless us and drive all evil away from us!!” she tweeted hours before the wedding.

Janja is active on social media, where she frequently posts pictures of herself with Lula, whom she accompanies to almost all public events.

She gave Lula a first wedding gift on May 7 at the launch of his presidential candidacy when she presented him the re-issued version of the famous 1989 campaign jingle, which went down in the history of the Brazilian left as “Lula lá.”

According to polls, Lula has about 45 percent of the support for the election in five months, compared to 30 percent for Bolsonaro, who has nonetheless been narrowing the lead.

Lula’s first wife was Maria de Lourdes, who died in 1971, two years after their wedding.

He then married Marisa Leticia Rocco in 1974. They were married for 43 years until her death in 2017 after suffering a stroke. EFE

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