How 'Lula's Army' WhatsApp chat helped turn Brazil election around
As polls pointed to defeat, millions joined a 'Lula's Army' channel that is credited with helping transform online enthusiasm into real-world mobilisation.
How WhatsApp chat “Lula’s Army” helped swing Brazil’s election
A WhatsApp channel set up to back Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s re-election bid is being praised by allies for helping produce one of the most improbable recoveries in recent Brazilian politics.
Brazil’s left-wing president had been behind right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, but he managed to reverse the contest in only three weeks.
At a point when many believed Lula could not turn things around, a WhatsApp channel named Lula’s Army appeared and quickly expanded to 10.8 million followers.
The effort, led by Congressman André Janones, urged supporters to circulate videos, push hashtags and bring in new voters.
Its rapid expansion between the two rounds was especially striking because it seemed to overturn a long-running imbalance in Brazilian politics.
For years, conservatives linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro were widely viewed as controlling online political mobilisation, particularly on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Lula’s supporters mobilised en masse despite polls pointing to a defeat for the incumbent
The rise of Lula’s Army persuaded many supporters that Brazil’s left had finally discovered a way to compete in the digital space. The development mattered even more because social media has been central to Brazilian politics since Jair Bolsonaro’s 2018 election win, when WhatsApp networks became a defining part of campaigning.
Messages from Lula’s Army often contained ready-made templates for followers to send to friends and family. Each one gave supporters a specific assignment designed to increase Lula’s visibility on social media.
Janones often told his “troops” to “blow up” the newest campaign video or help a fresh hashtag “take off”.
“Guys, urgent!”, “Don’t go to sleep yet”, “No food before the mission!”, and “I have one more task before you’re dismissed”, were among the instructions.
On the eve of the election, the congressman also held a 24-hour live event — called the “turnaround livestream” — even though polls still pointed to a Bolsonaro victory.
The approach succeeded, despite concerns from some Workers’ Party members that Janones’s frequently combative social media style could damage the more moderate image they wanted Lula to project.
In his victory speech, Lula called Janones “our General” and thanked him for “raising the morale of our troops every day”.
Lula called André Janones a “General” after his major contribution paid off
Still, assessing the electoral effect of online mobilisation is notoriously hard.
Although Lula’s allies say Lula’s Army helped drive the comeback, political scientists warn that it is impossible to know how many votes, if any, were directly affected by the WhatsApp operation.
Political scientist Denilde Holzhacker says a change in Lula’s campaign strategy was crucial to his comeback.
Instead of depending only on online engagement, she says the Workers’ Party candidate succeeded in linking digital campaigning with grassroots mobilisation on the ground.
According to Holzhacker, the campaign stepped up local efforts and adjusted its message — tying a Bolsonaro victory to fears about possible changes to social programmes and the loss of rights.
“It was to Lula’s credit that he recognised his own weakness and completely changed his style,” she says. “And Janones managed to do something that had seemed unthinkable for Brazil’s left - dominate social media.”
By contrast, Holzhacker says Flávio Bolsonaro entered the run-off too confident of victory and did not communicate his message to supporters as effectively.
Sociologist and political scientist Mayra Goulart, a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, also warns against crediting Lula’s comeback only to social media.
“It was a combination of social media and street-level mobilisation,” she says. “The physical world enabled a form of mobilisation capable of reducing abstention and persuading undecided voters.”
In her view, Lula’s supporters succeeded in turning online enthusiasm into real-world political action.
“Those committed to Lula’s victory worked to bring people together and persuade them to vote,” Goulart says.
She says the effort not only helped raise turnout but may also be useful for Lula’s next administration.
“I believe this collective effort was an important learning experience and will prove valuable for a government that still faces many battles ahead. It not only helped reduce abstention, but also converted a significant number of undecided voters.”
Lula himself said the mobilisation behind his comeback could influence how he governs in the years to come.
In his victory speech, he said the election had taught him many lessons and promised to change how Brazil is governed.
“We are going to give people a greater say in decision-making, and digital communication will play a much bigger role in my government.”