Brazil’s presidential campaign officially kicked off on Friday as leading contenders Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro began airing free political advertisements on television and radio, signaling the intensification of electioneering ahead of the first round of voting on October 4. Despite the growing influence of social media, experts emphasize that traditional broadcast media remain a key vehicle for reaching voters across Brazil’s vast territory.

Lula, the incumbent president seeking a fourth, nonconsecutive term, is currently polling in a tight race with Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Political analyst Thomas Traumann, an independent consultant and former Brazilian minister, anticipates a particularly contentious campaign, describing it as likely to be even more acrimonious than the 2022 election cycle, which was notably divisive. In that election, Lula narrowly defeated Jair Bolsonaro, who is now serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup, marking the closest presidential contest since Brazil’s democratic reestablishment in 1985.

In Brazil, political parties are granted free airtime on television and radio, with distribution based on the size of their coalitions and representation in the lower house of Congress. This system aims to promote democratic equality by preventing economic power from dictating campaign visibility. Bruno Pompeu, a communications professor at the University of Sao Paulo, highlighted that the gratis nature of the ads ensures a level playing field for parties regardless of their financial resources.

Traditionally, these ads have played a decisive role in setting the public agenda and are widely consumed, especially among older voters who may be less engaged with digital platforms. Maria Izabel Pecanha, a retired history teacher from Rio de Janeiro, noted she prefers watching the television and radio campaign ads, viewing them as an instructive window into Brazil’s political landscape.

While the formal nature of TV and radio advertising persists, analysts observe that the increasing prominence of social media will influence the tone and style of these spots, making them more informal and relatable. João Ricardo Matta, a business professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, expects campaign funds to shift accordingly, with greater investments directed toward social media outreach alongside traditional broadcasts.

For the current campaign period, broadcasters are mandated to allocate 14 minutes daily to nearly 1,000 commercial segments of 30 seconds each, along with dedicated blocks totaling 12 minutes and 30 seconds solely for presidential candidates. Lula’s coalition and allied parties will receive 5 minutes and 31 seconds, compared to 4 minutes and 20 seconds for Bolsonaro’s party. The disparity reflects Bolsonaro’s difficulties in consolidating a broad political alliance, in contrast to his father’s successful coalition-building in 2018. Should the election proceed to a runoff scheduled for October 25, the two remaining candidates will be allotted equal broadcast time.