André Janones, the key figure in the comeback that allowed Lula da Silva to win the second round of Brazil's 2026 presidential elections

André Janones was a Brazilian deputy from Minas Gerais and a member of Lula’s Workers’ Party. At 42, he took on a central campaign task: winning over voters through social media. Lula later called him “our general” and credited his daily work with raising supporters’ morale.

Janones created the “Lula Army” WhatsApp channel in April. After Lula finished behind Bolsonaro’s candidate in the first round, Janones used the channel to distribute self-recorded videos, pro-Lula messages, and attacks on Bolsonaro. The channel grew from 60,000 followers to almost 11 million in three weeks.

His role mattered because the right traditionally dominated Brazil’s social networks, according to the article. Janones tried to change that balance with fast, direct communication and organized sharing. He appeared beside Lula after the result, including at celebrations on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista.

A second-round presidential election is a runoff held after the first vote when the leading candidate has not secured the required winning threshold. It narrows the contest to the main candidates, giving voters a final choice. The article presents Lula’s second-round win as a reversal rather than a continuation of the first result.

In the first round, Flávio Bolsonaro’s side had the advantage, while Lula did not lead. Janones therefore focused on changing the campaign’s momentum online. His WhatsApp channel distributed messages supporting Lula and criticizing Bolsonaro, while its audience expanded dramatically in the weeks before the runoff.

By the second round, Lula had reversed that position. With more than 99% of votes counted, he had over 51% and more than 64 million votes. He defeated senator and right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and was reelected for the 2027–2031 period.

The “Lula Army” was a WhatsApp broadcast channel created by André Janones to support Lula’s presidential campaign. Its importance came from its extraordinary reach. It gave Janones a direct way to send campaign content to a large and growing audience in a country the article describes as highly connected.

After the first-round vote on October 4, the channel had 60,000 followers. In just three weeks, that number rose to almost 11 million. Janones encouraged followers to distribute his material, creating a mechanism in which one central message could move rapidly through supporters’ own networks.

The channel’s scale helped Lula’s campaign compete in an online environment traditionally dominated by the right. It also gave Janones a visible organizing role. His videos were not merely announcements; they were calls to action aimed at turning followers into active campaign messengers.

Janones used WhatsApp as a daily mobilization channel, not simply as a place to publish statements. His goal was to energize Lula’s supporters and make them participants in the campaign. The article describes each video as having the atmosphere of a battle ritual.

In his selfie videos, Janones raised his voice, moved his arm up and down, and shouted “¡Explote Brasil!”. He ordered followers to distribute pro-Lula material and content criticizing Bolsonaro. This created a simple mechanism: Janones produced the message, while supporters amplified it through their own contacts and networks.

The approach helped the campaign fight for attention on social media, where the right traditionally had greater influence. Janones also used military language, calling followers soldiers and the channel an army. Its growth to almost 11 million followers gave those repeated appeals an unusually large audience.

The campaign’s success changed the election’s outcome. Lula entered the second round without the advantage, but he managed to reverse the momentum and defeat Flávio Bolsonaro. The result returned Lula to Brazil’s presidency for the 2027–2031 period.

With more than 99% of the votes counted, Lula had over 51% of the vote and more than 64 million supporters. The article links Janones’s work to this turnaround, especially his effort to raise morale and mobilize voters through the “Lula Army” channel. Lula publicly recognized that contribution after the count.

The victory produced a highly visible celebration. Lula thanked Janones in his first speech after reelection and later appeared with him on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista. Janones addressed the crowd as soldiers of Lula’s army, presenting the result as a collective digital and political mobilization.

Brazil’s second-round comeback stood out because Lula had to overcome an opponent’s first-round advantage. The article says that no one had achieved such a reversal since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. That made the task more than an ordinary runoff campaign; it was presented as a break from a long electoral pattern.

Janones treated the challenge as a battle for online influence. He sought to reach voters through WhatsApp, where he could send direct appeals and encourage supporters to share them. The channel’s expansion from 60,000 followers to almost 11 million gave this strategy exceptional scale.

The result was a historic-looking turnaround in the article’s account. Lula defeated Flávio Bolsonaro with more than 51% of the vote and secured another presidential term. Janones’s role became symbolic of the change, as Lula called him “our general” during the victory celebrations.

Messaging apps can be powerful because they deliver political content directly to people’s phones. They also allow supporters to pass messages through personal networks. That combination can make communication feel immediate and participatory, rather than distant or limited to traditional media.

Janones’s campaign showed the mechanism clearly. He recorded energetic selfie videos, issued pro-Lula appeals, criticized Bolsonaro, and told followers to distribute the material. The audience did not just receive campaign content; it was asked to help spread it. The “Lula Army” channel grew from 60,000 followers to almost 11 million in three weeks.

The article presents this digital organization as especially important because the right traditionally dominated social media in Brazil. Messaging apps helped Janones challenge that advantage and raise supporters’ morale several times a day. The campaign suggests that direct reach and rapid sharing can influence momentum during a close runoff.