Analysis: Brazilian Government Adopts 'First-Ladism' to Soften Circumspect and Masculine Image - Folha de S.Paulo

The Brazilian federal government is beginning to smile - a lot. Pictures and videos of the first speech by the country's First Lady, Marcela Temer, are all over social networks.

Unlike the general negative comments made regarding the Michel Temer administration on the internet, those made on Thursday, October 5, were positive references. And it is all because of the first lady.

"When she first appeared in the hall of the Planalto Palace, all the audience turned to look at her. When the event ended, everybody wanted to get close to her, not to the president," said the advisor, who asked his name not to be disclosed.

The description and the impact that Marcela Temer's debut caused along the day demonstrate what we are likely to see in the next two years. But here is a message for those who dislike the "first-ladism," as it is believed to be old-fashioned and even sexist: the exploitation of the first lady's image is here to stay.

Ministers and advisors are convinced that the young Marcela Temer, aged 33, brings a breath of fresh air to a circumspect government, predominantly male and white-haired.

In the words of a government strategist, the federal government is not interested in displaying President Temer's wife as a formulator or manager of social programs, like the image of academic Ruth Cardoso, the wife of former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

"That is what she wants, not what her husband asked her to do," says an advisor-he also says he is tired of feminist associations complaining of the first lady's role.

Those who are against the role say it reinforces the woman's identity as a homemaker, who takes care of the children and the family, especially when this image is connected to social campaigns, such as that to donate blankets and warm clothes to homeless people.

Those who defend the role, however, say that the first lady draws attention to important causes. And Marcela Temer wants to help her husband to achieve that.

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