However, her artistic career really began at age 15, in her hometown of Santos, in the role of bunny Naná in the play A Árvore que Andava, by Oscar Von Phull.

She supported the strikes of metalworkers in the ABC Region, where she became familiar with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, then a growing figure in the Brazilian political scene.

On 15 January 1985, Mendes was expelled from the Workers' Party for having voted, in the Electoral college (indirect election system), for Tancredo Neves as President.

When exercising her second term as congresswoman, Mendes joined the entourage of President José Sarney on an official visit to Uruguay.

On 17 August 1985, she discovered that among the officers of the Brazilian Embassy in Uruguay were Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the man who tortured her in prison.