First lady

As first lady, Pedrossian prioritized social assistance, which became her trademark. One of the highlights was the founding of the Association of Parents and Friends of the Handicapped.

During a meeting with the governor of Mato Grosso, a student fainted from hunger. Her husband, Pedrossian, told her the story and, together with a friend, founded the students' restaurant, the student who fainted ended up becoming an employee of the Court of Auditors and deputy for Acre.

Pedrossian started to take care of the gardens in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso.

Pedrossian stayed away from politics for several years. He eventually returned in 1978 when he was elected senator. In 1980, he resigned from office to be appointed governor of Mato Grosso do Sul.

For two years, until 1982, when Wilson Barbosa Martins (MDB) was elected, she returned to dedicate herself to social work as First Lady. She said that she spent the day receiving the poor, who sought everything from food to medical treatment. Some were even sent to São Paulo.

The couple returned to power in 1991, when Pedrossian was elected governor for the 3rd time. Maria Aparecida became famous as "Maria Panelão" (Maria Panel), for distributing a basic food basket to poor families.

Seeing that the women were unable to work because they had nowhere to leave their children, Maria Aparecida asked Pedrossian to build day care centers in the neighborhoods. She says that one was built in each neighborhood of Campo Grande.

In 1982, she ended up with the Federal Police in José Elias Moreira's gubernatorial campaign. Her opponent was Wilson Martins, who had 14th of July Street, the main political stage at the time, covered with the election campaign.

Pedro Pedrossian tried to return to power in 1998, when he was left out of the second round of the Government dispute, and in 2002, when he lost the seat of senator. For Maria Aparecida, her husband lost to communist parties, which invested a lot of money in the election of Zeca do PT.^[6]