How Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro chased social media trends to appeal more to the younger generations
by Noor Merheb
On October 25, 2026, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was re-elected president of Brazil, and thousands of his supporters filled Avenida Paulista, one of São Paulo’s most emblematic streets, to celebrate. Wanting to witness the moment firsthand, my friends and I joined the march. Surrounded by a crowd that was largely young, we began to understand how deeply the country’s youth engages with politics, and what shaped that engagement. Much of the answer lay in the screens around us. Throughout the 2026 presidential race, both Lula and his right-wing opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, treated social media as the central battleground for Brazil’s youngest voters. However, the digital contest reveals less about technology than about the image challenges each candidate sought to overcome, and it demonstrates how limited online engagement is as a measure of genuine support.
Lula: Background and Rise to Power
On October 27, 2002, the left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva representing the PT party, more commonly referred to as Lula, was elected the thirty-fifth president of Brazil. Despite never having attended university, he later went on to create numerous public universities, expanding access to higher education across the country. Coming from a working-class background, his work for the Brazilian trade union movement and the social advances made throughout his presidency are seen as a great representation of what Brazil can accomplish in establishing itself as a global economy. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and Brazil being a country haunted by corruption, especially in politics and money laundering, Lula and his party were no exception. Indeed, on March 4, 2016, the former president was brought in for questioning in connection with the Operation Car Wash scandal. The investigation looked into possible corruption and money laundering at Petrobras, as well as the possibility that the money was also used to pay bribes and fund multiple electoral campaigns.
Flávio Bolsonaro: A Political Heir Comes of Age
On October 4, 2026, the right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro, representing the PL party finished first in the opening round of Brazil’s presidential election with over 56 million votes, setting up a runoff against Lula. Unlike his rival, Flávio is a university graduate, holding a law degree with a specialization in public policy. As the oldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, he entered politics in 2002, at the age of twenty-one, running for state deputy in Rio de Janeiro. He took office in February 2003 and was reportedly the youngest member of that legislature in the state’s legislative assembly. He has co-authored multiple legislative proposals, including one on green initiatives such as electric vehicle battery recycling, aimed at preserving Brazil’s flora and fauna. However, yet again, corruption allegations caught up with a Brazilian politician. In 2018, a report from Brazil’s financial intelligence unit flagged suspicious transactions involving one of his former aides, which led to the discovery of what is known as a rachadinha: a scheme in which staffers were allegedly made to return part of their government-paid salaries to him. In 2020, Rio prosecutors formally charged Bolsonaro with embezzlement, money laundering, criminal organization and misappropriation, accusations he has consistently denied.
The PL: Entertainment and an Influencer Network
Flávio’s strategy leaned on pop culture. According to Congresso em Foco, his pre-campaign released a funk jingle with a choreography and social media language designed to go viral, and it presented him as “01,” a reference to being the first son of Jair Bolsonaro. Jovem Pan reported that the goal was to soften his image for undecided and centrist voters, with young people a particularly coveted group. The approach also carried risks, as the same outlet noted that the dancing videos received negative reactions and the jingle was to be dropped. His real strength came from his allies online. The campaign said that, days before the runoff, more than 400 influencers with a combined following of about 200 million attended a meeting in São Paulo.
The PT: A Late Adjustment
Lula’s team started with more traditional youth outreach. The PT youth wing’s “Brota na Urna” campaign, reported by Correio Braziliense, encouraged young people to get their voter ID. The campaign also released a rap jingle, according to Congresso em Foco. Yet the party appeared to realize its mistake only after the first round, in which Lula finished behind Flávio. As reported by Agência Pública, the campaign agreed that it had failed to give enough importance to viral formats in the social media environment. The PT then reorganized, and, according to SBT News, young elected lawmakers created a WhatsApp group to help choose daily topics and formats. The results seemed to follow, as Agência Pública, citing Folha de S.Paulo, reported that Lula overtook Flávio in engagement after the first round, reaching 9.9 million interactions in a single day.
But, does this engagement equal persuasion?
It would be easy to conclude that whoever wins online wins the young vote. Indeed, the evidence suggests otherwise. Correio Braziliense pointed out that views on youth mobilization videos do not indicate which candidate young viewers will actually support. Jovem Pan added that today’s young voters are more disillusioned and more conservative, having been born when the PT was already one of the country’s largest parties. There are also risks beyond the vote. BBC News Brasil, via O Povo, described AI-generated Bolsonaro videos multiplying on TikTok, including one used by Flávio’s own campaign at its launch. In an earlier analysis of the 2022 campaign, researcher Oliveira told Meio & Mensagem that TikTok is crucial to campaign strategy but also more dangerous for spreading disinformation.
Brazil has chosen, but not decisively
Lula won a fourth term with 51.79% of valid votes, against 48.21% for Flávio Bolsonaro, after trailing in the first round. A late digital reset helped the PT recover, yet nearly half the country voted for the other side, and Flávio carried São Paulo, the state where I stood among the celebrating crowd. So what comes next? Lula must govern a deeply divided nation, Flávio and the PL must turn online strength into lasting political power, and both must answer the question that ran through this entire campaign: what do Brazil’s young people want beyond a video that goes viral?