Lula's WhatsApp army helped deliver Brazil's historic election win

abc.net.au —

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a historic fourth term on Sunday, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro in a run-off election, aided by a massive WhatsApp mobilization campaign called "Lula's Army." The group, launched by congressman André Janones after Lula's first-round loss, grew from 50,000 to over 10.8 million followers, using urgent messaging and AI-generated content to rally young voters. Lula secured 51.8 percent of the vote, with 14.1 million additional voters turning out for the second round, three-quarters of whom backed him. Bolsonaro initially refused to concede, alleging electoral fraud, though his party later acknowledged the result. Lula now faces a Congress shifted further right after conservative gains in the first round.


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