Three weeks prior to the final result, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faced a daunting challenge after trailing his opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, by over two million votes in the first round of Brazil's presidential election. Historically, no second-place candidate had ever won a runoff in Brazil, making a re-election for the incumbent president seem nearly impossible. However, Lula ultimately secured a decisive victory on Sunday with a lead exceeding four million votes, a turnaround that has surprised many observers.
A critical factor in this unexpected win was a digital campaign orchestrated by left-wing deputy André Janones. Following the initial setback, Janones transformed his WhatsApp channel into a coordination hub for "Lula's Army," assigning volunteers to specific missions and urging them to amplify the president's messages across social media under the slogan "Go viral!" The channel experienced explosive growth, expanding from approximately 50,000 members to nearly 3.5 million within days, and reaching almost 11 million participants by election day.
While the digital effort was significant, it was not limited to online activism. Many of the missions coordinated through WhatsApp involved volunteers speaking directly with potential voters in person to activate them. Political scientist Denilde Holzhacker told the BBC that this specific combination of digital campaigns and grassroots mobilization was key to the success. She noted that Lula recognized his previous weaknesses and fundamentally changed his style, while Janones achieved what previously seemed unthinkable for the Brazilian left: dominating social media.
The election took place against a backdrop of intense polarization regarding the country's direction. Lula campaigned on social programs, rainforest protection, and international cooperation, whereas Bolsonaro focused on economic liberalism, deregulation, tax cuts, and spending reductions. Bolsonaro also aligned himself with US President Donald Trump and promised to pardon his imprisoned father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years following a coup attempt.
Despite the victory, the campaign faced substantial obstacles from technology platforms. Meta temporarily restricted the reach of many Instagram accounts critical of Bolsonaro or aligned with the left just two weeks before the election. Additionally, in September, paid advertising accounts for Lula's team on Facebook and Instagram were suspended due to alleged rule violations. Users also noted discrepancies where Meta's AI agent could generate images of Bolsonaro but not Lula. The NGO CTRL+Z documented over a thousand cases of online censorship, primarily affecting accounts close to Lula, while Amnesty International highlighted how easily Facebook can be exploited for manipulation campaigns.
Lula filed a complaint with Brazil's Electoral Court accusing Meta, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, of manipulating the election in favor of Bolsonaro. Meta rejected these claims, attributing issues to technical errors. Even Janones' WhatsApp account was suspended for 48 hours in mid-October by Electoral Court President Kássio Nunes Marques, who cited unproven allegations of disinformation spread. Nunes Marques had been appointed to his position by former President Jair Bolsonaro.
In the aftermath, Lula has renewed his criticism of tech giants and announced a stricter approach to regulating social media during his thank-you speech. While the specific details of this new regulatory framework remain unclear due to past constitutional court rulings striking down excessive rules and threats of tariffs from Donald Trump, it is certain that the 81-year-old president has embraced digital communication. Lula, who recently did not even own a smartphone, now plans to involve the public more directly in government decisions through digital channels, marking a significant shift in his administration's style.
Sources: netzpolitik.org.