About this Episode
In 2022, Brazilians faced a match-up between far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, aka ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ and progressive Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Despite polling portending a Lula first round sweep, the election went to a run-off and Lula triumphed by a fraction of a percent. That hard fought victory was thanks in no small part to youth voters and the campaign that increased their participation by 47%.
Bolsonaro’s divisive policies and disastrous handling of COVID-19 weighed against him, but he had a fiercely loyal base attracted by his right-wing populism and “culture war” crusades. And while Lula, a once wildly popular president, also boasted die-hard supporters, his stint in prison on corruption charges was a huge obstacle for conflicted voters. Just as critical, young people were disillusioned by both Bolsonaro’s regressive regime and a 77-year-old ex-president.
In Brazil, the voting age is 16 but mandatory only after age 18. Listen in on how organizers unleashed the power of BTS fandom, democracy trainings, celebrity endorsements, and carefully calibrated messaging to create a polyvocal campaign to get this absolutely critical – yet understandably cynical – voting block to the polls.
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Meet Our Interviewees
Thaynah Gutierrez
Thaynah Gutierrez, 24 years old, young black woman, public administrator. She works as an officer in human and socio-environmental rights and has voluntarily worked as a popular educator and Politize leader since 2019. She believes in political education to build safe spaces for Black and Indigenous people to make decisions about public policies.
Gabi Juns
Gabi Juns is a communicator with experience in socio-environmental, pro-rights and electoral campaigns using collaborative, creative and humorous approaches. She founded the School of Activism and developed its learning methodologies for creative communication and effective organizing for activists. She also worked on two presidential campaigns for Marina Silva among other political campaigns in Brazil, including Alessandro Molon for Mayor of Rio de Janeiro. In 2022, she crafted the political strategy and implementation of landmark efforts to increase the participation of young people and women in elections, producing direct actions and unbranded communication materials for these campaigns. She is now one of the directors of Lamparina, a women-led organization that does narrative work to strengthen democratic values.