Launch of Lula and Flávio's campaigns: what you didn't see

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The official presidential election campaign has begun.On Sunday, August 16th, the presidential candidates held their inaugural rallies in what promises to be, according to polls, an even more heated race than previous ones.

I faced the heavy sun in São Bernardo do Campo, in the Paulista ABC region, to see how Lula's last presidential campaign would begin, whether he wins or loses. The audience, dressed in red, wearing t-shirts and caps from various social movements and organizations – MTST, MST, CUT, different unions – seemed to meet the organizers' expectations, who had hoped for around 20,000 people.

With the motto "Where It All Began," the event was nostalgic.Many became emotional about the beautiful idea of the start, remembering the 1979 strikes when Lula emerged as a union leader for the first time.After all, when all of Lula's 5 presidential campaign songs and slogans were played on the big screen, a part of our lives was also reenacted in images from the 90s, in the outdated clothes, in Lula's whitening and thinning hair.

The campaign understood that today, any society needs both a future and a past, that distant thing that social media is increasingly stealing from us: we no longer live in the past or practice memory as we once did. 

Also appealing to nostalgia was the slogan "it's a tetra" printed on a massive flag hanging from the bleachers. According to Uol, Lula actively participated in the coordination of the event, showing that if his campaign lacks the promise of something new, his three terms as president have many achievements to showcase.

The reenactments at Vila Euclides were beautiful: Lula's reunion with workers who participated in the 1979 strike; Janja's reunion with the memory of Marisa Letícia, honored in the first lady's speech, who recalled that women also built the social struggle, helped overthrow the dictatorship, and change the country.Aware of the decisive weight of the female electorate's vote, Lula spoke exclusively to women, and Janja promised: "Let's elect Lula president once more."

There were no major surprises, nor much enthusiasm from the attendees, but the event fulfilled its mission of transforming the campaign of an 80-year-old, who has been president three times, into a historical moment in the era of AI, one that brings pride.

Lula spoke for over 30 minutes. He recalled the strikes of 1979 and 1980, when he was imprisoned and workers recognized his role as a leader. He read figures from his most recent term and urged activists to show undecided voters that they are better than those under Bolsonaro's government. He reminisced about impressive education numbers, contrasting education with public safety, attempting to distinguish his investment in the future of young people from Bolsonaro's government's gun sales liberalization. He concluded his speech as the lawn began to empty, noting that Janja always tells him that "when holes start appearing in the crowd, it's the people saying they're hungry and want to eat lunch."

What caught my attention was the mention of Supreme Court Minister Dias Toffoli. In his improvised speech, Lula showed resentment, without naming him, when he recalled that it was "a minister I appointed" to the STF who didn't allow him to attend his brother Vavá's funeral when he was imprisoned in Curitiba. He compared Toffoli to Romeu Tuma, the delegate who allowed him to visit his mother, Mrs. Lindu, every night when he was imprisoned during the military dictatorship. "In a demonstration that men are not measured by eras, but by character, dignity, and the upbringing they had," he said.

The complaint comes at a bad time. With the TSE divided, Toffoli will be the swing vote.A massive open Brazilian flag amidst the crowd and nostalgia for various Brasis crossed by Lula's trajectory were enough to exude a patriotism once seized by bolsonarism. Fafá de Belém sang the national anthem; there were many shirts from the Brazilian team with the PT's star.

But the theme of national sovereignty itself appeared rarely. In Lula's speech, it emerged when he spoke of rare earths, essential for building the architecture of the new AI economy. "I don't want them from the United States, Russia, China, France, or England. No one will exploit our rare minerals for the benefit of the Brazilian people."

However, the theme of national sovereignty itself was barely mentioned.

Flávio focuses on narratives for digital combat

In Copacabana (where I didn't go, but watched on YouTube), patriotism was once again displayed through the shirts of the national team, green and yellow.There was no nostalgia in the air, but the most prominent feeling was a sense of missing Jair Bolsonaro, whose name and face were present in every speech.The audience was evidently smaller (around 9,000 according to the USP/Cebrap Political Debate Monitor) and the campaign started slowly, with recent news of the centrão's departure still resonating.

There was also the national anthem, which was concluded with Jair Bolsonaro's voice over the speakers: "God, homeland, family, and liberty, thank you my God for this moment."The launch already made it clear that the campaign is more about her than about Flávio, making the candidacy crucial for the future of Bolsonarism.This is not an election to win, but to keep the Bolsonaro movement in the forefront of national politics. Flavio himself set the tone: "It's difficult to compare the son of Pelé to Pelé."

The event thus demonstrated one of the campaign's main challenges and its underlying narrative, the January 8th coup attempt. The speech made it clear that it is difficult to reconcile a democratic campaign with the narrative that there is a persecution of Jair— "we [the Bolsonaros] have always been the last obstacle to this country becoming a dictatorship," said Flávio. It will also be difficult to reconcile the defense of the country and the national anthem with the retaliations imposed by the US against Brazilian entrepreneurs at the request of Eduardo.

Under the slogan "Brazil will win," Flávio addressed the issue that seems to be a weak point for Lula: public security.He made a clear promise to deepen the designation of criminal organizations as terrorist, including militias.And it hit the perception that the federal government does nothing to combat organized crime.It structured the criticism with a well-crafted slogan:"The current government is fighting a country 10,000 km away but not fighting drug traffickers, cell phone thieves, or assassins," he said.# A New Era for Sustainable Energy: Brazil's Renewable Revolution Brazil is undergoing a significant transformation in its energy sector, embracing renewable sources to power its future. With a focus on sustainability, the country is leading the way in harnessing the potential of solar, wind, and hydro energy. The Brazilian government, in collaboration with private investors, has launched ambitious projects to expand renewable energy capacity. One notable initiative is the "Renova Energia" program, which aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the national grid to 45% by 2030. This program offers incentives and subsidies to encourage the development of clean energy projects. Solar energy has seen remarkable growth, with states like São Paulo leading the way in adoption. The region's abundant sunlight has attracted investments in large-scale solar farms, making it a hub for renewable energy innovation. Similarly, wind energy projects are gaining traction, particularly in the southern states, where strong winds provide a vast untapped resource. Hydroelectric power, a traditional source, continues to play a crucial role, especially in the Amazon region, where large dams contribute to the nation's energy mix. However, the focus is shifting towards more sustainable practices, including the integration of small-scale hydro projects and the improvement of existing facilities. This renewable revolution is not only environmentally beneficial but also economically viable. Brazil aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, decrease carbon emissions, and create new job opportunities in the green energy sector. With its diverse natural resources, the country is well-positioned to become a global leader in sustainable energy solutions.

Another move by Flávio's campaign was the way the candidate sought to redefine the word "sovereignty" in the light of the fear of violence that remains one of the main election concerns for all Brazilians. "We have lost sovereignty. We no longer have sovereignty over our cell phones, our cars, their bags, our homes," he said.

Who has sovereignty here in the Alemão Complex? The Government or the Red Command?" he asked. "A government that doesn't have the capacity or the will to defend the sovereignty of those who live here in Brazil, doesn't have the conditions to maintain sovereignty over its own territory, or it's in bed with organized crime or it's just very incompetent." Thus, he promised: "I will rescue Brazil's sovereignty.

This narrative engineering allows to counter the main Achilles' heel of Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign, his alliance with the US via his brother Eduardo and the US retaliations - something that has always gone against him in Brazil, even though it has increased the percentage of Brazilians who think Lula should negotiate with Trump.

Perhaps the main issue that makes the Bolsonarista field competitive is its digital mastery.The tactic of "stealing" a word from the opposing field has even a name in digital speech manipulation studies, it's called "keyword squatting."This makes sense in the internet dispute, as information distribution is organized through search tools, tagging, and content-related organizations.By using the word "sovereignty," the campaign inserts its version into searches and social media, and also confuses a concept that, for most Brazilians, may still seem distant and ethereal.

Flávio also demonstrated he has traction on social media: while the official launch of his campaign was watched by 393,000 people on YouTube, Lula's had 226,000 views by Monday morning.

To increase this traction, the PL candidate will bring back an old ghost, reigniting conspiracies about the stabbing of Jair Bolsonaro. Before heading to Copacabana, he announced during a live stream that he would campaign with a bulletproof vest because, he claims, he has received over 1,800 death threats.

The ballistic vest was worn under a green and yellow shirt with the slogan "My party is Brazil."

It's worth remembering that, after Trump's announcement of new tariffs against Brazil, Flávio had six times more interactions on social media than Lula, according to a survey by consulting firm Bites. If Lula led in the initial surge, in the digital world, Bolsonaroism still holds an advantage.IRL (in real life)(in real life), in the digital realm, Bolsonaroism maintains its lead.