Brazil’s 2018 presidential campaign challenged the assumption that television exposure was essential to victory. Geraldo Alckmin had five and a half minutes of airtime, compared with eight seconds for Jair Bolsonaro, yet Bolsonaro won. Wilson Gomes writes that WhatsApp groups, influencers and digital content producers helped demonstrate the electoral power of online campaigning.
In the years that followed, Gomes argues, Bolsonaro’s political movement built a lasting digital network of media outlets, public figures and communities. The left had online influencers and content creators too, but struggled to turn that presence into comparable political influence, he says.
Gomes sees the “Exército do Lula,” organized by André Janones during the 2026 runoff, as a different kind of innovation. It did not rely on a new technology or hidden platform feature. Instead, Janones coordinated dispersed supporters into a collective effort, giving them clear instructions about what to do, where to act and when.
The operation appealed to people who wanted to defeat Bolsonaro without requiring them to adopt a broader left-wing identity or demonstrate loyalty to Lula. Its focus, Gomes writes, was practical: supporters could take part by accepting a task.
The column describes the WhatsApp channel’s central challenge as turning its millions of subscribers into an organized force. Janones assigned simple tasks, set targets and deadlines, and also told participants what not to do. The effort extended beyond social media, encouraging supporters to engage in other online spaces and speak with relatives, friends and acquaintances.
Gomes contrasts the operation with the decentralized digital network developed by the right. He characterizes Carlos Bolsonaro’s 2018 contribution as an innovation in the logistics of content circulation, while Janones’s 2026 effort focused on the logistics of coordination: a centralized campaign built for a three-week, high-stakes contest.
Whether that model can endure beyond the emergency of an election remains uncertain, Gomes concludes. Sustaining mass participation during a short campaign, he writes, is different from keeping people engaged in ongoing political disputes without the same urgency.
Sources: Folha Ilustrada.