The news site Poder360 compiled on Friday (28) 12 photographs of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva alongside lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger. The images were posted by the businesswoman herself on her Instagram profile between 2018 and 2023. The compilation came out one day after Lula said, in a televised interview with TV Globo, that he did not know her.
In the interview on Thursday (27), the president was asked about messages attributed to the lobbyist and to his eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha. The answer was blunt.
"I don't know this woman. I have never seen this woman in my life. I have never spoken to this woman. She has never been close to me," Lula said. He also called her a "crook".
In one of the images compiled by Poder360, posted on July 20, 2022, the lobbyist appears with Lula and the first lady, Janja Lula da Silva. The caption read: "Who has friends has everything". In October 2023, she posted another photo with the president to wish him a happy birthday. A check by G1's Fato ou Fake fact-checking unit found at least three photographs and one video of the two together.
Lula's campaign released a statement on Friday in response to the fallout. "President Lula is a public figure who, throughout his career and especially during campaigns and public events, is approached by countless people for photographs. The existence of these records does not mean a personal, professional or political relationship," the statement says. It concludes: "Lula has no relationship with Roberta Luchsinger and has never had any dealings with her."
The Federal Police inquiry
Roberta Luchsinger is a friend of Lulinha and is under investigation by the Federal Police in an inquiry into illegal deductions from pensions paid by the INSS, Brazil's social security institute. According to InfoMoney, the businesswoman and the president's son are investigated on suspicion of influence peddling in the government. In its investigation, the police identified payments from the lobbyist to the Presidency's then chief of staff, Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, known as Marcola.
According to reporting by Folha de S.Paulo picked up by Poder360, messages obtained by the police show that Luchsinger asked Marcola to pressure the Health Ministry's executive secretary, Swedenberger Barbosa, to close a purchase of dengue test kits. The negotiations took place in late 2024 and the first half of 2025, when the lobbyist was also trying to sell cannabidiol-based products to the ministry. Neither contract was signed. Marcola's defense says he "never brokered negotiations" at the Health Ministry, and Lulinha's defense said it cannot attest to the authenticity of the messages.
Presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) reacted on X with a video contrasting Lula's statement with the photos. "Lying is all he knows," he wrote. According to InfoMoney, the opposition began exploiting the issue on social media right after the interview. The Federal Police inquiry remains open under seal, and the episode joins the campaign repertoire on the road to the first round in October.