Who is André Janones? The man behind Lula's army WhatsApp channel and how he turned it into an electoral tool in Brazil

The incumbent Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the second round of presidential elections on Sunday, becoming the fourth president of this South American country. The leftist leader finished second in the first round of the October 4 presidential election with 45.16% of the vote, the clear winner being Flávio Bolsonaro, who was chosen by 47.03% of voters.

But just over 20 days later, the 80-year-old flipped the script and kept his post against all odds. Lula’s victory was decisive, with more than 64 million votes compared to just under 60 million for Bolsonaro, a difference of almost 4%.

How digital outreach has helped Lula

According to the Associated Press, analysts attribute the turnaround to an additional 14.1 million voters who showed up for the runoff, including those who voted for other candidates in the first round.

Many also pointed to how one man, legislator André Janones, turned the tables on Lulu. Janones is said to be the mastermind behind Lula’s digital campaign, which has launched a relentless and persistent social media operation that has mobilized many previously disaffected voters.

Who is André Janones?

Janones’ key tool was a WhatsApp channel called “Lula’s Army,” which gathered nearly 11 million people and mobilized them to campaign for the incumbent president through social media.

Janones, who serves as the federal deputy for the state of Minas Gerais, is widely recognized as the digital “general” behind the massive social media and mobilization campaigns for Lulu.

According to BBC Brazil, his 24/7 digital mobile station, which used viral videos, hashtags and a 24-hour live stream on the eve of the match, helped counter Bolsonaro’s strong digital presence.

André Janones and Lula’s Army

The campaign clicked, and as of October 20, Lula had reached 200 million social media interactions since October 5, while Bolsonaro had 54 million, according to data from Projeto Brief in a study for local newspaper Estadao.

Between the launch of the campaign on August 16 and the first round, Lula and Bolsonaro had more or less the same number of interactions, according to data from analytics company Bites. However, since the start of the second round, the incumbent’s profiles have received around 111 million interactions compared to Bolsonaro’s 31 million.

Janones “basically adopted a right-wing style of aggressive politics, very intense and constant messaging,” Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, told the AP.

“The defeat in the first round forced the Lula campaign into action. The strategy during the first round was lackluster and saw a lot of fighting,” Stuenkel said.