RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s top presidential candidates, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, beginning Friday will seek to draw votes through free advertisements on television and radio stations, which continue to play a fundamental role in the campaign despite the rise of social media, experts say.
\n\nEven in a heavily online country such as Brazil, ads on the TV and radio continue to set the talk of the town and sway voters, reaching remote corners of the continental-sized country.
\n\nWith the incumbent Lula — who is seeking a fourth, nonconsecutive term — currently polling neck and neck with Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, his main rival and the eldest son of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, independent political consultant and former Brazilian minister Thomas Traumann expects the ads to be extremely belligerent.
\n\n“I think the campaign will be dirtier than 2022, and 2022 was already one of the dirtiest in Brazilian history,” Traumann said, referencing the last presidential election when Lula defeated former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup, by the thinnest margin since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985.
\n\nMuch like ubiquitous Brazil flags and elaborate street paintings signal World Cup season…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/
