Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is adding a smartphone and a 21-year-old aide to his runoff campaign, Reuters reported, as younger candidates with large online audiences post strong results in congressional races.
Former aides told Reuters the phone Lula received this week was his first. At a recent rally in Brasilia, Lula told supporters, “I’m becoming the king of selfies, a real internet user.” Ana Elisa Silva, who studies law in Minas Gerais, joined Lula’s inner circle after his first-round performance to help him navigate social media. Silva told Reuters that people of different ages may have different comfort levels with platforms, but age alone does not define their ability to communicate or organize supporters.
Silva said Lula’s political communication grew from relationships with workers, trade unions, grassroots movements and large rallies. She told Reuters Lula’s established approach still has a role, though the campaign must adapt its outreach to how younger people now find information. The effort follows Lula’s post-first-round push to use social media.
The Oct. 4 congressional races, held alongside the presidential first round, showed the reach of younger candidates. Liberal Party candidates Nikolas Ferreira, 30, and Lucas Pavanato, 28, each received more than 3 million votes, Reuters reported. Leftist candidates Erika Hilton, 33, and Silva, 21, each won more than 500,000.
Ferreira’s Instagram audience is nearing 25 million, exceeding one-tenth of Brazil’s population, Reuters reported. Maximo Zaldivar, a regional director at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems for Latin America and the Caribbean, told Reuters that online personalities bring their own political following to campaigns. Conservative lawmaker Julia Zanatta, 41, who has more than 1 million Instagram followers, said success on social media takes commitment and consistent messaging. She won more than 500,000 votes in the election, Reuters reported.
Lula is seeking a fourth term against Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reported that Bolsonaro received 47.03% of valid votes and Lula 45.16%, with 99.99% of voting machines counted in the first round. Reuters reported that Bolsonaro has used his YouTube channel to address voters. Brazilians vote in the runoff Sunday, Oct. 25.
