Brazil polls: President Lula da Silva gets 1st smartphone at 80, but can he catch up with Brazil’s digital generation?

Digital campaigning is the use of online platforms to reach voters and shape political support. Candidates share messages, appear in videos, communicate directly, and build audiences on services such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp. It matters because voters increasingly consume political information online.

The article gives Lula’s smartphone debut as a striking example. Just before his 81st birthday, he reportedly received his first smartphone and began describing himself as “the king of selfies.” Ana Elisa Silva joined his inner circle to help him adjust his communication for younger people.

The goal is not simply to post more often. Candidates must turn online attention into political influence and votes. Younger politicians and influencers have shown the power of this model. Lula’s challenge is to combine his traditional grassroots strengths with a digital presence before the presidential runoff.

The article highlights very large online audiences among Brazil’s younger politicians and political influencers. Ferreira, described as a staunch Bolsonaro supporter and the son of an evangelical pastor, has nearly 25 million Instagram followers. That equals more than 10% of Brazil’s population, according to the article.

Conservative lawmaker Julia Zanatta has more than one million Instagram followers. She also won over half a million votes in the month’s election. Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula’s runoff opponent, reaches voters through his own YouTube channel, although no subscriber figure is provided.

The article does not give exact audience sizes for every younger candidate who performed strongly in congressional elections. Its broader point is that large, self-built digital audiences can become electoral assets. They allow politicians to communicate directly with many people without relying entirely on traditional rallies, organisations, or endorsements.

Lula’s platform skills could affect the runoff because digital influence is becoming a powerful electoral asset in Brazil. The article says TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp increasingly shape the country’s political landscape. A candidate who reaches voters directly online may communicate faster and more consistently, especially with younger audiences.

Lula entered this environment late. Just days before his 81st birthday, he reportedly received his first smartphone and called himself “the king of selfies.” Ana Elisa Silva, a 21-year-old law student, joined his inner circle to help him adapt after his disappointing first-round performance.

His opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, is 45 and uses his own YouTube channel. Younger candidates with strong followings also performed exceptionally well in congressional elections. Lula therefore needs to connect his established support with digital communication if he wants to compete effectively in the runoff.

Lula’s traditional campaigning depended on direct human contact rather than a personal digital audience. He built his political identity through trade unions, grassroots mobilisation, connections with workers, and mass rallies. These methods helped establish him as a major left-wing politician over several decades.

His background shaped that approach. Lula was a former shoeshine boy who became a metalworker and trade union leader. He first ran for president in 1989. His communication historically focused on workers, grassroots organisations, and supporters gathered in large public events.

The article presents social media as an important adjustment, not a complete replacement for Lula’s earlier methods. Ana Elisa Silva said the experience remains important but must fit changing ways of consuming information, especially among young people. Lula’s challenge is to join personal mobilisation with online communication as campaigning evolves.

A candidate’s personal online following can function as political capital because it represents an accumulated base of attention, trust, and reach. The article describes this following as an electoral asset. It can help a politician communicate directly with voters and build influence without depending entirely on established campaign networks.

Máximo Zaldívar of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems explains the mechanism. He says an influencer’s following is political capital that the person brings to a campaign. The larger and more engaged the audience, the more valuable the candidate’s own communication channel can become.

Ferreira illustrates the scale of this capital. He has nearly 25 million Instagram followers, more than 10% of Brazil’s population. Julia Zanatta has over one million followers and won more than half a million votes. These examples show how online reach can accompany real electoral strength.

Asking a celebrity or social media personality to endorse a campaign means borrowing that person’s existing audience for a political message. The politician remains dependent on an outside figure to provide attention and credibility. This was the older pattern described by Máximo Zaldívar.

The newer approach is for candidates themselves to build digital audiences. They create online content, communicate consistently, and develop direct relationships with followers. Flávio Bolsonaro uses his own YouTube channel, while Ferreira has nearly 25 million Instagram followers. Their influence is attached to their personal channels.

That difference matters because a self-built audience can become lasting political capital. Zaldívar says influencers once endorsed politicians, but candidates increasingly build their own audiences and influence. A politician with direct reach can communicate without waiting for a celebrity partnership and may control the message more closely.

Social media platforms shape political information by changing who communicates with voters and how quickly messages reach them. Candidates can publish content directly on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp. These platforms help them build audiences instead of relying only on rallies, organisations, or traditional campaign channels.

The article’s examples show the mechanism. Ferreira has nearly 25 million Instagram followers, while Julia Zanatta has more than one million. Flávio Bolsonaro uses his own YouTube channel. Their audiences can repeatedly encounter political messages from the candidates or supporters they follow, giving digital communication a central role.

This shift is especially important for younger voters, whose information habits are changing. Several younger candidates with strong social media followings performed exceptionally well in congressional elections. The article suggests that politicians who master direct online communication may gain an advantage in future contests.