How the "Lula Legion" WhatsApp chat group turned the tide of the Brazilian election
Author, Julia Braun
Author, Rute Pina
and
Author, Luiz Fernando Toledo
Role, BBC Brazilian Portuguese Correspondent
Reporting from, London and Sao Paulo
Published 5 minutes ago
Reading time: 3 minutes
A WhatsApp channel set up to support Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's re-election bid is being seen by allies as a key enabler of Brazil's most unlikely political reversal in recent years.
Brazil's left-wing president, who trailed right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, managed to turn around the election in just three weeks.
The Rise of "Lula's Army"
When many people doubted whether Lula could "come back and win", a WhatsApp channel called "Lula's Army" came into being and quickly accumulated 10.8 million followers.
The operation, led by Brazilian Congressman André Janones, encouraged supporters to share videos, promote the hashtag, and recruit new voters.
The channel's dramatic growth between the two voting rounds is particularly notable because it appears to have reversed a long-standing imbalance in Brazilian politics.
Indeed, conservatives, who have aligned themselves with former President Jair Bolsonaro for years, are generally seen as having an advantage in online political mobilization, particularly on platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
The emergence of the "Lula Legion" has led many supporters to believe that the Brazilian left has finally found a way to compete on the digital battlefield.
The shift is particularly important because social media has played a central role in Brazilian politics since Jair Bolsonaro’s victory in 2018, with the WhatsApp network becoming a defining feature of political campaigns.
"Lula's Army" messages often come with ready-made templates for followers to forward to friends and family. Each message will assign a specific task to supporters, with the aim of increasing Lula's visibility on social media.
Yanones often directs his "troops" to "detonate" the latest campaign video or help a new hashtag "take off."
"Everyone, it's urgent!", "Don't sleep yet", "No eating until the mission is completed!", and "I have one more mission before disbanding" are some of the instructions.
On the eve of polling day, the congressman also hosted a 24-hour live broadcast - dubbed a "comeback live" - even as polls continued to show Bolsonaro would win.
The tactic worked, despite concerns among some members of the Workers' Party that Ianones' often confrontational style on social media could undermine the softer image they hoped to project for Lula.
In his victory speech, Lula called Yanones "our general" and thanked him for "raising the morale of our troops every day."
The role of social media in recovery
However, measuring the actual impact of online mobilization on election outcomes is notoriously difficult.
While Lula’s allies credit “Lula’s Legion” with helping fuel the reversal, political scientists warn it’s unclear how many votes the WhatsApp operation directly affected — or even none at all.
For example, political scientist Denilde Holzhacker believes that the change in Lula's campaign strategy is the key to his comeback.
She told the BBC that the Workers' Party candidate did not rely solely on online interactions, but successfully connected digital campaigning with grassroots physical mobilization.
According to Holzhak, the campaign stepped up local action and adjusted its messaging strategy to tie Bolsonaro's victory to concerns about possible changes to social welfare programs and the possible loss of rights.
"Lula's credit is that he recognized his weaknesses and completely changed his style," she said. "And Ianones has done what seemed impossible for the Brazilian left in the past - dominate social media."
In contrast, Holzhak believes Flavio Bolsonaro was too confident of victory heading into the runoff and failed to convey his message to his supporters as effectively.
Prof Mayra Goulart, a sociologist and political scientist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, also warned that social media should not be solely responsible for Lula's reversal.
"It's a combination of social media and street mobilization," she said.
She added that "the physical world facilitates a form of mobilization that reduces abstention rates and persuades undecided voters."
In her view, Lula's supporters have successfully translated online enthusiasm into real-world political participation.
"Those who were committed to Lula's victory worked hard to bring people together and convince them to vote," Goulart said.
