The major role of social media in Brazil’s election campaigns

World Today

Candidates in Brazil’s October 5th general election are using all kinds of strategies to win votes and social media is playing a major role in the campaign.

About 25,000 candidates are running for president, state governor and congress. Banners and flags display the images of maybe too many candidates. They can now be seen in strategic spots in Brazil’s major cities.

Free official TV advertisement is even more vital for candidates running for office, but it favors President Dilma Rousseff’s Workers’ party. She has 12 of the 25 minutes space, while her closest rival, Marina Silva of the Socialist party, has only two minutes. The time is split according to the number of each candidate coalition in congress.

Aside from traditional advertising, Brazil’s election campaign is taking over cyberspace, which is a crucial battleground in a country where half of the 145 million voters are social media users.

CCTV America’s Lucrecia Franco reports.